Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 9:9

For we [were] bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

9. For we were bondmen ] R.V. For we are bondmen. Ezra explains his words ‘in our bondage’. The bondage is not past. The Jews are still bondmen, in servitude to the king of Persia.

yet our God, &c.] The hand of God’s mercy could be discerned in the events of past history.

extended mercy ] Cf. Ezr 7:28.

to give us to set up to repair ] God, by the kings of Persia, gave the ‘reviving’; through their favour the Jews had been able ‘to set up’ the Temple and ‘to repair’ its ruins; the royal favour acted as a fence to the Jews against the neighbouring nations.

the desolations ] R.V. the ruins. Marg. waste places. Isa 44:26 ‘I will raise up the waste places thereof’, Isa 61:4 ‘And they shall build the old wastes’. Here where the word is applied to the house and is found in connexion with the ‘repair’ (lit. ‘cause to stand’ or ‘set up’ as in Neh 6:1) ‘ruins’ seems the best English equivalent.

a wall ] So also R.V. text. R.V. marg. ‘a fence’. The Hebrew word (‘gdr’) is specially used of a fence round a vineyard. It is used by Isaiah ‘I will break down the fence thereof’ (Isa 5:5) in the celebrated allegory in which Israel is the vineyard. It occurs also in the Psalm (Psa 80:12) ‘Why hast thou broken down her fences?’, where the same image of the sacred vine is employed. The use of the word here is perhaps an allusion to these well-known passages. It is not a literal ‘fence’ or ‘wall’, but ‘protection’ and ‘defence’.

in Judah and in Jerusalem ] Cf. Ezr 2:1, Ezr 4:6, Ezr 5:1.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

We were bondmen – Rather, we are bondmen (compare the marginal reference). The Israelites, though returned from the captivity, were still bondmen. The Persian monarch was their absolute lord and master.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

We were bondmen, i.e. in greater bondage than that in which we now are.

Hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, i.e. hath given us to find favour in their eyes.

To give us a reviving; to recover us from the grave of dreadful calamities, in which we lay like dead men and dry bones, Eze 37:1, &c.

To repair the desolations thereof, to wit, of the temple; either,

1. To build the house, where there was only a heap of the ruins of the old temple. Or rather,

2. To frequent and celebrate the worship of God in that place, which hath long lain like a desolate and neglected place. For the building of the house was mentioned in the next foregoing words.

To give us a wall, Heb. a hedge, or a fence; either,

1. The wall built about Jerusalem. But it is probable that was not yet built, as we shall see by the following history. Besides, this fence is intimated to be as much a fence to the rest of Judah as to Jerusalem. Or,

2. The favour and protection of the kings of Persia, whose edicts on their behalf were under God their security against all those enemies wherewith they were encompassed. Or,

3. The powerful and gracious providence of God, which had brought them together, and planted them in their own land, and watched over them from time to time.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

For we were bondmen,…. To the Chaldeans when in Babylon, which was more than the Jews in the times of Christ would own, Joh 8:33,

yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage; had not left them to continue in it always:

but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia; moved them to have pity and compassion on them, and release them:

to give us a reviving; while in captivity, they were as in their graves, and like the dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision, but revived upon the proclamation of Cyrus, and the encouragement he gave them to return to their own land:

to set up the house of our God, and repair the desolations thereof; both to rebuild the temple, and to restore the worship of it:

and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem; not to set up the walls of Jerusalem, and of other cities, which as yet was not done; but rather the walls of their houses, which they had rebuilt; they had walled houses given them in Judah and Jerusalem; though the word signifies an hedge or fence, such as is about gardens and vineyards, and may denote the protection of the kings of Persia, which was a fence to them against the Samaritans and others; and especially the hedge of divine Providence about them, which guarded and defended them, see Job 1:10.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

9. We were bondmen Having been subject to Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian kings.

Kings of Persia Especially Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes.

To give us a wall in Judah Another metaphorical expression (compare give a nail, in Ezr 9:8) presenting the idea of a fenced inclosure, a fortified town, whose surrounding walls were a means of defence against enemies. The new community at Jerusalem had found the favours of the Persian kings a wall of defence against their foes. So in Isa 5:2; Isa 5:5, the house of Israel is represented as a well-fenced vineyard.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Ezr 9:9 For we [were] bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

Ver. 9. For we were bondmen ] Heb. servants; and so wholly and only at the pleasure of another; for a servant is not , saith Aristotle, one that moveth absolutely of himself; but he is the master’s underling and instrument, , wholly at his disposal. The saints may say all as much, We were bondmen, slaves to sin, drudges to the devil, driven about by him at his pleasure, having as many lords as lusts, Tit 3:3 , and thereby exposed to a thousand mischiefs and miseries; the heathens’ Pistrinum, the Turk’s galleys, Bajazet’s iron cage, the Indian mines, are nothing to it. This we should frequently recognize; and remembering that our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but brought us from darkness to light, “and from the power of Satan unto God, that we might receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified,” Act 26:18 ; we should blush and bleed in the sense of our unthankfulness, saying, as Ezr 9:14 , Should we again break thy commandments, &c.

Yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage ] As he may seem to do his prisoners of hope, when he leaves them in the enemy’s hand, or under some pressing affliction, and seems to forget them, that they may the better remember themselves. But God had remembered these returned captives “in their low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever.” And had “redeemed them from their enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever,” Psa 136:23-24 . Their sin therefore was the greater, since against so much mercy; and God might justly have said unto them, as Eze 22:20 , “I will gather you in my anger and in my fury, and will leave you there.” A grievous judgment indeed! for woe be unto you when I forsake you, Hos 9:12 . Lord, leave us not, Jer 17:17 . Forsake us not utterly, Psa 119:8 .

To give us a reviving ] See Ezr 9:8 .

To set up the house of our God, and to repair, &c. ] He reciteth and celebrateth God’s favours to that people, not in the lump only and by wholesale, as we say; but entereth into particulars, and reckoneth them up one by one. So doth Moses, Exo 18:8 . So doth David, Psa 136:1-26 So must we, that we may shame and shent ourselves, as here, for our unthankfulness: and be inrited and incited thereby to better obedience. God, for this cause, crumbleth his mercies unto us (saith one): we have his blessings by retail, that we may make our utmost of them.

And to give us a wall ] Protection and safeguard, as the walls of Sparta was their militia, and the walls of England is our navy. They had the fence of the king of Persia’s favour. They had also God’s providence, as a hedge or wall of fire round about them, Zec 2:5 . See Trapp on “ Zec 2:5 “

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

we were. Or, supply the Ellipsis “we [are]”.

bondmen. The subjects of the Persians (Neh 9:36).

mercy = lovingkindness, or grace.

kings of Persia. See App-57.

to repair the desolations. Compare Neh 1:2, Neh 1:3.

give us a wall. This helps to prove that the task of Nehemiah had already been effected. See the Structure on p. 617, notes on p. 618, and App-58.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

we were bondmen: Neh 9:36, Neh 9:37

yet our God: Psa 106:45, Psa 106:46, Psa 136:23, Psa 136:24, Eze 11:16

in the sight: Ezr 1:1-4, Ezr 1:7-11, Ezr 6:1-12, Ezr 7:6, Ezr 7:8, 11-28

to set up: Ezr 6:14, Ezr 6:15, Hag 1:9, Zec 4:6-10

repair: Heb. set up

a wall: Or rather, a hedge or fence, gader, such as were made for sheep-folds. Isa 5:2, Isa 5:5, Dan 9:25, Zec 2:5

Reciprocal: Ezr 7:28 – extended Ezr 9:8 – grace hath Neh 1:2 – that had escaped Est 4:14 – enlargement Psa 85:6 – revive Isa 14:3 – General Isa 49:24 – lawful captive Jer 51:5 – Israel Lam 3:22 – of Mic 7:19 – turn Joh 8:33 – and were Rev 21:12 – a wall

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Ezr 9:9. For we were bondmen In greater bondage than that in which we now are. Our God hath extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia Hath given us to find favour in their eyes. To give us a reviving To recover us from the grave of dreadful calamities in which we lay, like dead men and dry bones, Eze 37:1. To repair the desolations thereof Of the temple: either to build the house where there was only a heap of the ruins of the old temple, or to frequent and celebrate the worship of God in that place which had long lain desolate and neglected. And to give us a wall The protection of the kings of Persia, whose edicts were their security against all those enemies wherewith they were encompassed: and the gracious providence of God, which had planted them in their own land, and watched over them from time to time.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments