Ezra doesn't just confess his sin, but the nation's, using "our" and "we" to show how deeply he identifies with their collective guilt, even though the text implies only "princes and priests" were the primary offenders. His intense shame isn't just about their actions, but the sheer overwhelming height of their iniquities, metaphorically compared to a flood rising over their heads.
saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Ezra has just learned that the returned exiles, including their leaders and priests, have intermarried with the surrounding Canaanite peoples, directly violating God's commands. This devastating news throws Ezra into despair, leading him to tear his clothes and sit in shock until the evening sacrifice. His prayer begins as a raw, personal confession of profound shame and guilt over the nation's repeated disobedience, acknowledging their sin has reached a staggering, heaven-high level.
Ezra’s confession isn't just about personal failings; it’s a deep ache for the entire community. How can one person bear the weight of so many sins?
Merging Personal and National Sin
Ezra uses "our" and "my" interchangeably, a powerful sign of deep empathy and shared responsibility. He confesses the people's sins as if they were his own.
Ezra isn't just sorry; he's ashamed and physically blushing. What does this deep sense of shame reveal about God and His people?
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The Opposite of Calloused Hearts
Ezra's shame is a healthy, God-honoring response, contrasting sharply with those who are indifferent to their sin.
Ezra describes their iniquities as rising "higher than our heads" and "up to the heavens." What does this vivid imagery tell us about the magnitude of their sin?
A Flood and a Reaching Tower
The metaphors Ezra uses paint a picture of overwhelming and inescapable sin.
Understand the original words
'avon · Hebrew Noun
A state of moral failure or perverse action that deviates from God's standard of righteousness, often implying a twisting or distortion of the will. It carries the weight of guilt and separation from God.
ashmah · Hebrew Noun
The state of being responsible or liable for an offense; the condition of one who has incurred debt or penalty due to sin. It signifies the legal and moral standing before God resulting from wrongdoing.
Ezra's profound shame in this verse is a direct response to the people's intermarriage with surrounding nations, a violation of the covenant that occurred soon after their return from Babylonian exile, a period marked by severe divine judgment.
c. 586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Babylonian Exile
The Babylonians conquer Judah, destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, and deport a significant portion of the population, marking the end of the Southern Kingdom. This event serves as a stark divine judgment for generations of disobedience.
539 BC
Cyrus the Great's Conquest of Babylon
The Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great overthrows the Babylonian Empire, creating a new political reality in the ancient Near East.
538 BC
Cyrus's Decree Allowing Jewish Return
Cyrus issues a decree permitting exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. This marks the beginning of the return from exile.
c. 515 BC
Completion of the Second Temple
Under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest, the Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt and rededicated. This signifies a partial restoration of Jewish national and religious life.
c. 458 BC— this verse
Ezra's Return to Jerusalem
Ezra, a scribe and priest, leads a second major group of exiles back to Jerusalem from Babylon. He is commissioned by the Persian king to teach the people God's law.
c. 457 BC
Discovery of Intermarriage with Foreigners
Upon hearing the news of widespread intermarriage between the returned Jewish people and the surrounding native populations, Ezra is devastated and begins to pray and confess the people's sin.
This psalm uses the same powerful imagery of iniquities rising above one's head, illustrating the overwhelming and crushing weight of sin, just as Ezra describes.
Jeremiah 6:15Ezra's deep shame is contrasted with the unrepentant generation described here, highlighting the profound spiritual awakening that can lead to genuine remorse for sin.
Daniel 9:5-6Daniel's prayer of confession shares striking similarities with Ezra's, including the profound sense of shame and the acknowledgment of national sin that has reached heaven.
Luke 18:13The tax collector's inability to even lift his eyes to heaven due to his sin directly parallels Ezra's feeling of shame, illustrating how unconfessed sin isolates us from God.
Ezekiel 36:32This passage speaks of God's desire for Israel to be ashamed of their ways, echoing Ezra's personal feeling of shame and the hope for national repentance and transformation.
pulpitEzra 9:6: "And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens."
Verse 6. - I am ashamed and blush. Jeremiah had complained that in his day those who "committed abominations were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush" (Jeremiah 6:15; Jeremiah 8:12). Ezra, with these words in his thoughts possibly, begins his confession with a protestation that he at any rate is not ope…
clarkeEzra 9:6: "And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens."
I am ashamed and blush - God had been so often provoked, and had so often pardoned them, and they had continued to transgress, that he was ashamed to go back again to the throne of grace to ask for mercy in their behalf. This is the genuine feeling of every reawakened backslider.
Ezra doesn't just confess his sin, but the nation's, using "our" and "we" to show how deeply he identifies with their collective guilt, even though the text implies only "princes and priests" were the primary offenders. His intense shame isn't just about their actions, but the sheer overwhelming height of their iniquities, metaphorically compared to a flood rising over their heads.
Ezra has just learned that the returned exiles, including their leaders and priests, have intermarried with the surrounding Canaanite peoples, directly violating God's commands. This devastating news throws Ezra into despair, leading him to tear his clothes and sit in shock until the evening sacrifice. His prayer begins as a raw, personal confession of profound shame and guilt over the nation's repeated disobedience, acknowledging their sin has reached a staggering, heaven-high level.
Ezra has just learned that the returned exiles, including their leaders and priests, have intermarried with the surrounding Canaanite peoples, directly violating God's commands. This devastating news throws Ezra into despair, leading him to tear his clothes and sit in shock until the evening sacrifice. His prayer begins as a raw, personal confession of profound shame and guilt over the nation's repeated disobedience, acknowledging their sin has reached a staggering, heaven-high level.
"saying:
“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great g…" — Ezra doesn't just confess his sin, but the nation's, using "our" and "we" to show how deeply he identifies with their collective guilt, even though the text implies only "princes and priests" were…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
