Ezra 8:22
in Ezra 8For 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 is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
KJV
For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
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This verse in Ezra 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseI was ashamed to require - a band - He had represented God, the object of his worship, as supremely powerful, and as having the strongest affection for his true followers: he could not, therefore, consistently with his declarations, ask a band of soldiers from the king to protect them on the way, when they were going expressly to rebuild the temple of Jehovah, and restore his worship. He therefore found it necessary to seek the Lord by fasting and prayer, that they might have from Him those succours without which they might become a prey to their enemies; and then the religion which they professed would be considered by the heathen as false and vain.
This site's exposition
I was ashamed to ask the king
on Ezra 8:22-23
Ezra fasts because he was ashamed to ask the king for an escort. "The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him". The fast is answered in one short sentence: "He granted our request."
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) what principles he went upon, that those who seek God are safe under the shadow of his wings, even in their greatest dangers, but that those who forsake him are continually exposed, even when they are most secure.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For I was ashamed to require of the kings band of soldiers and horsemen,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
What “enemy” menaced Ezra, and on what account, is wholly uncertain (compare Ezr 8:31). Perhaps robber-tribes, Arab or Syrian, were his opponents.
Modern Voices1 voice
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.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בֹ֗שְׁתִּי | vosheti | I was ashamed | H954 → | |
| לִשְׁא֤וֹל | lishol | to ask | H7592 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| חַ֣יִל | chayil | an escort | H2428 → | |
| וּפָרָשִׁ֔ים | ufarashim | and horsemen | H6571 → | |
| לְעָזְרֵ֥נוּ | leazerenu | to help us | H5826 → | |
| מֵאוֹיֵ֖ב | meoyev | from an enemy | H341 → | |
| בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ | badarekh | on the journey | H1870 → | 707 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָמַ֨רְנוּ | ʾamarnu | we had said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | lamelekh | to the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מְבַקְשָׁיו֙ | mevakshav | [those who] seek him | H1245 → | 225 times |
| לְטוֹבָ֔ה | letovah | for good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְעֻזּ֣וֹ | veuzo | and strength his | H5797 → | |
| וְאַפּ֔וֹ | veapo | and anger his | H639 → | |
| עַ֖ל | ʾal | [are] towards | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֹזְבָֽיו׃ | ʾozevav | [those who] forsake him | H5800 → | 215 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בֹ֗שְׁתִּיI was ashamed
voshetiH954 →
לִשְׁא֤וֹלto ask
lisholH7592 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
חַ֣יִלan escort
chayilH2428 →
וּפָרָשִׁ֔יםand horsemen
ufarashimH6571 →
לְעָזְרֵ֥נוּto help us
leazerenuH5826 →
מֵאוֹיֵ֖בfrom an enemy
meoyevH341 →
בַּדָּ֑רֶךְon the journey
badarekhH1870 →707 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אָמַ֨רְנוּwe had said
ʾamarnuH559 →5305 times
לַמֶּ֜לֶךְto the king
lamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤ינוּGod our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
עַל־[is] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מְבַקְשָׁיו֙[those who] seek him
mevakshavH1245 →225 times
לְטוֹבָ֔הfor good
letovahH2896 →538 times
וְעֻזּ֣וֹand strength his
veuzoH5797 →
וְאַפּ֔וֹand anger his
veapoH639 →
עַ֖ל[are] towards
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֹזְבָֽיו׃[those who] forsake him
ʾozevavH5800 →215 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
2 Chronicles 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in…
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
- Jeremiah 16:17
For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.
- Proverbs 5:21
For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
- Psalms 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- Proverbs 15:3
Through
1 Peter 3:12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
it leads to
- Psalms 34:15–16
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- Psalms 34:15–16
Through
Lamentations 3:25The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
it leads to
- Micah 7:7–8
But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Micah 7:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezra
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Derek Prince, Fasting for Self-Humbling (radio teaching, Fasting series pt. 1); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.