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Ezra 8:21

in Ezra 8

And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

KJV

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

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This verse in Ezra 8

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
Really, Ezra had two alternatives there: the carnal or the spiritual. He could have resorted to the carnal and asked for that band of soldiers and horsemen; it would not have been sinful, but it would have been on a low level of faith.

This site's exposition

I proclaimed a fast

At the Ahava Canal, where the Levites had just been found missing, Ezra proclaims a fast. Its purpose is to ask God for safety on the road for the company. The fast is held so "that we might humble ourselves before our God" ahead of a dangerous crossing.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah · Written before 735.

proposed

And I proclaimed there a fast, etc. An example of fasting and praying, when we want to commence something of great virtue: and because the faithful hope in the Lord never fails, nor can it happen that we do not obtain what we justly seek …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Publick prayers must be made, that all who are to share in the comfort, may share in the requests for it. Afflict ourselves - For our sins; and so be qualified for the pardon of them. When we are entering on any new condition of life, our care should be to bring into it none of the guilt of the sins of our former condition.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

To excite their supplications. Prayer was always joined with religious fasting. Their errand to the throne of grace was to seek of God the right way, that is, to commit themselves to the guidance of the divine Providence, to put themselves under the divine protection, and to beg of God to guide and keep them in their journey and bring them safely to their journey's end.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Therefore he resolved that his followers should, by a solemn act of fasting and prayer, commit themselves to the Keeper of Israel. Their faith, considering the many and constant perils of a journey across the Bedouin regions, must have been great, and it was rewarded by the enjoyment of perfect safety during the whole way.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וָאֶקְרָ֨אand I proclaimed

    vaekra'H7121 →

  • שָׁ֥םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • צוֹם֙a fast

    tzomH6685 →

  • עַל־at

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַנָּהָ֣רthe river

    hanaharH5104 →119 times

  • אַהֲוָ֔אAhava

    ʾahava'H163 →3 times

  • לְהִתְעַנּ֖וֹתto humble ourselves

    lehitanotH6031 →

  • לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּGod our

    ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times

  • לְבַקֵּ֤שׁto seek

    levakeshH1245 →225 times

  • מִמֶּ֙נּוּ֙from him

    mimenuH4480 →1188 times

  • דֶּ֣רֶךְa journey

    derekhH1870 →707 times

  • יְשָׁרָ֔הstraight

    yesharahH3477 →

  • לָ֥נוּfor us

    lanu

  • וּלְטַפֵּ֖נוּand for little one[s] our

    uletapenuH2945 →

  • וּלְכָל־and for all

    ulekhol-H3605 →5413 times

  • רְכוּשֵֽׁנוּ׃property our

    rekhushenuH7399 →28 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Chronicles 20:3Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.19 worksJoel 1:14Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.15 worksPsalms 121:8The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.15 works1 Samuel 7:6When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.14 worksIsaiah 30:21And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”14 worksJonah 3:5And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.11 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Leviticus 16:29This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you—10 worksLeviticus 23:29If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people.9 worksPsalms 107:2–8Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy9 worksPsalms 143:8–10Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.9 worksProverbs 3:6in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.8 worksPsalms 5:8Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me.7 worksJoel 2:12–18“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”7 worksIsaiah 42:16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.7 worksIsaiah 49:10They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.6 worksJeremiah 10:23I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.6 worksActs 2:39This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”6 worksEzra 8:15Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there.6 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Isaiah 30:21

    And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”

    it leads to

    • Psalms 32:8

      I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.

    • Proverbs 3:5–6

      Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

    • Isaiah 58:11

      The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

    • Isaiah 42:16

      I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These…

    • Deuteronomy 5:32

      So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 20:3

    Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.

    it leads to

    • Daniel 9:3

      So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Joel 1:14

      Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Jonah 3:5

    And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.

    it leads to

    • Luke 11:32

      The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Ezra

Cyrus Restores the Vessels of the Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Cyrus Restores the Vessels of the Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezra: the study guide →Read Ezra 8 →

This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Derek Prince, Fasting for Self-Humbling (radio teaching, Fasting series pt. 1); Jamieson, Fausset & 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ezra 8 →