At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
Parallel translations
- WEB At the evening offering I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God;
- KJV And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,
- NKJV At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God.
- NASB But at the evening offering I stood up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God;
- NLT At the time of the sacrifice, I stood up from where I had sat in mourning with my clothes torn. I fell to my knees and lifted my hands to the Lord my God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
At the evening sacrifice Ezra rose from his mourning, knelt, and spread his hands to God in prayer. He turned his grief into humble intercession.
Overview
Choosing the time of the evening offering, Ezra approached God in a posture of total humility, kneeling with outstretched hands. The link to the sacrifice shows he came pleading on the basis of atonement, not personal merit. His intercessory prayer for a sinful people anticipates Christ, the perfect Mediator who ever lives to intercede for His own (Hebrews 7:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Kgs 8:38then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple—
- 1 Kgs 8:54Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.
- 1 Kgs 8:22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,
- Exod 9:33Then Moses departed from Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread out his hands to the LORD. The thunder and hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.
- Exod 9:29Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.
- Ps 143:6I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
- Eph 3:14... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
- 2 Chr 6:13Now Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had placed it in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on it, knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,
- Ps 141:2May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.
- Ps 95:6O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
- Acts 21:5But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to pray with us.
- Isa 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Luke 22:41And He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt down and prayed,
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The return from exile and the rebuilt altar keep alive the hope of a greater restoration — the true return from our deeper exile of sin accomplished by Christ.
How Ezra 9:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.