Ezra 9:8

9:8 “But now briefly ¹  we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position ²  in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes ³  and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude.

Ezra 9:13-15

9:13 “Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint ⁴  toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this. 9:14 Shall we once again break your commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples? Would you not be so angered by us that you would wipe us out, with no survivor or remnant? 9:15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt ⁵  no one can really stand before you.”

[9:8]  ¹ tn Heb “according to a little moment.”

[9:8]  ² tn Heb “a peg” or “tent peg.” The imagery behind this word is drawn from the experience of nomads who put down pegs as they pitched their tents and made camp after times of travel.

[9:8]  ³ tn Heb “to cause our eyes to shine.” The expression is a figure of speech for “to revive.” See DCH 1:160 s.v. אור Hi.7.

[9:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “held back downwards from”; KJV “hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve” (NIV, NRSV, NLT all similar).

[9:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “this”; the referent (the guilt mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.