Ezra 7:28
in Ezra 7and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials. And because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and hath extended lovingkindness unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened according to the hand of Jehovah my God upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.
KJV
And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.
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This verse in Ezra 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd I, strengthened by the hand of the Lord my God, etc. He calls the hand of God the power of God, which works all things. Rightly does he gather those whom he will lead from Babylon to Jerusalem, who themselves are known to have …
This site's exposition
Blessed be the LORD
on Ezra 7:27-28
Ezra's own voice breaks in, blessing the LORD for putting it into the king's heart to honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. The chapter closes on the confidence of verses 6 and 9: "the hand of the LORD my God was upon me".
This site's exposition
I took courage and gathered the leaders
Bede reads the hand of God as the power of God that works all things. John Wesley draws from the clause that God must have all the glory for any service done. Chapter 8 names these leaders house by house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
As the hand, &c. - If God gives us his hand, we are bold and chearful: if he withdraws it, we are weak as water. Whatever service we are enabled to do for God and our generation, God must have all the glory of it.
He was one of the sons of Aaron, a priest. Him God chose to be an instrument of good to Israel, that he might put honour upon the priesthood, the glory of which had been much eclipsed by the captivity. He is said to be the son of Seraiah, that Seraiah, as is supposed, whom the king of Babylon put to death when he sacked Jerusalem, 2 Kings xxv.
): He has extended mercy to me. The king, in the honour he did him, we may suppose, had an eye to his merit, and preferred him because he looked upon him to be a very sensible ingenious man; but he himself ascribes his preferment purely to God's mercy. It was this that recommended him to the favour of his prince.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And hath extended mercy unto me, before the king and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty princes,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And I was strengthened - In what the king decreed he saw the hand of God; he therefore gave him the praise, and took courage. There is a most amiable spirit of piety in these reflections. Ezra simply states the case; shows what the king had determined, and tells what he said; and then points out the grand agent in the whole business - it was the Lord God of his fathers.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָלַ֣י | vealai | and towards me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הִטָּה־ | hitah- | he has extended | H5186 → | |
| חֶ֗סֶד | chesed | covenant loyalty | H2617 → | 247 times |
| לִפְנֵ֤י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְיֽוֹעֲצָ֔יו | veyoatzav | and counselors his | H3289 → | 79 times |
| וּלְכָל־ | ulekhol- | and to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שָׂרֵ֥י | sarei | [the] officials of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַגִּבֹּרִ֑ים | hagiborim | <the> mighty | H1368 → | |
| וַאֲנִ֣י | vaani | and I | H589 → | |
| הִתְחַזַּ֗קְתִּי | hitchazakti | I strengthened myself | H2388 → | 291 times |
| כְּיַד־ | keyad- | according to [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהַי֙ | ʾelohai | God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עָלַ֔י | ʾalai | on me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וָאֶקְבְּצָ֧ה | vaekbetzah | and I assembled ! | H6908 → | 127 times |
| מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | miyisrael | from Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| רָאשִׁ֖ים | rashim | chiefs | H7218 → | 599 times |
| לַעֲל֥וֹת | laalot | to go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עִמִּֽי׃ פ | ʾimi | with me | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וְעָלַ֣יand towards me
vealaiH5921 →5755 times
הִטָּה־he has extended
hitah-H5186 →
חֶ֗סֶדcovenant loyalty
chesedH2617 →247 times
לִפְנֵ֤י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְיֽוֹעֲצָ֔יוand counselors his
veyoatzavH3289 →79 times
וּלְכָל־and to all
ulekhol-H3605 →5413 times
שָׂרֵ֥י[the] officials of
sareiH8269 →421 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הַגִּבֹּרִ֑ים<the> mighty
hagiborimH1368 →
וַאֲנִ֣יand I
vaaniH589 →
הִתְחַזַּ֗קְתִּיI strengthened myself
hitchazaktiH2388 →291 times
כְּיַד־according to [the] hand of
keyad-H3027 →1618 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהַי֙God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 times
עָלַ֔יon me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 times
וָאֶקְבְּצָ֧הand I assembled !
vaekbetzahH6908 →127 times
מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֛לfrom Israel
miyisraelH3478 →2507 times
רָאשִׁ֖יםchiefs
rashimH7218 →599 times
לַעֲל֥וֹתto go up
laalotH5927 →890 times
עִמִּֽי׃ פwith me
ʾimiH5973 →1050 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 32:28Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
it leads to
- Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone…
- Genesis 35:10
And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel.
- Isaiah 62:2–4
Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
- Hosea 12:3–5
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God.
- Genesis 27:33–36
Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will…
- Revelation 2:17
Through
Ezra 9:9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild…
it leads to
- Ezra 7:6
this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 7:6
Through
Ezra 8:18And since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel—along with his sons and…
it leads to
- Ezra 8:22
For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 8:22
Through
Ezra 5:5But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they were not stopped until a report was sent to Darius and written instructions about this matter were returned.
it leads to
- Psalms 33:18
Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion
- Psalms 33:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
About Ezra

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 8; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
