Ezra 9


Ezra 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. The section comprising chapters 7 to 10 mainly describes the activities of Ezra the scribe and the priest. This chapter and the next deal with the problem of intermarriage, starting with the introduction of the crisis, then Ezra’s public mourning and prayer of shame. J. Gordon McConville suggests that this chapter is central to the Book of Ezra because it draws a sharp contrast between what the people of God ought to be and what they actually are.

Text

15 verses. The original text of this chapter is in Hebrew language.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Alexandrinus.
An ancient Greek book called 1 Esdras containing some parts of 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah is included in most editions of the Septuagint and is placed before the single book of Ezra–Nehemiah. 1 Esdras 8:68-90 is an equivalent of Ezra 9.

The report (9:1–2)

Some Jewish leaders in Jerusalem reported to Ezra about 'the misconduct of various leaders and members of the community'.

Verse 2

Hearing the report, Ezra responded with a "public act of contrition" in his function as "the official representative of the community".

Verse 3

The action also denoted 'horror' on receiving shocking intelligence or hearing shocking words, such as:
In the New Testament is also recorded:
Being a leader of the community, Ezra offered a "public prayer of confession" which is "sincere, personal, emotional and forthright". The Jerusalem Bible describes the prayer of Ezra as "also a sermon".

Citations