Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 12th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Ezra 9:6

Then I prayed this prayer: "My God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to look at you. I am ashamed because our sins are higher than our heads. Our guilt has reached all the way up to the heavens.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Blushing;   Intercession;   Prayer;   Repentance;   Sin;   Scofield Reference Index - Bible Prayers;   Thompson Chain Reference - Confession of Sin;   Conscience;   Guilt;   Guilty Conscience;   Honour-Dishonour;   Innocence-Guilt;   Nation;   Prayer;   Shame;   Shame, Sin's;   Sin;   Sin's;   Wicked, the;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Confession of Sin;   Prayer, Private;   Repentance;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Confession;   Sorrow;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Legalism;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Confession;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ezra, the Book of;   Malachi;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ezra, Book of;   Guilt;   Lift;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ezra;   Fasting;   Genealogy;   Gestures;   Prayer;   Shame;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Heaven ;   Sacrifices ;   Sinlessness;   Synagogue;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Confession;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Lift;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Babylonish Captivity, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ashamed;   Captivity;   Esdras, the First Book of;   Intercession;   Lift;   Prayer;   Proselyte;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Adoration, Forms of;   Prayer;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And I said:
Hebrew Names Version
and I said, my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up to the heavens.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
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.
New Century Version
I prayed, "My God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are so many. They are higher than our heads. Our guilt even reaches up to the sky.
New English Translation
I prayed, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens.
Amplified Bible
and I said, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongdoings have risen higher than our heads and our guilt has grown to the heavens.
New American Standard Bible
and I said, "My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongful deeds have risen above our heads, and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.
World English Bible
and I said, my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up to the heavens.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And said, O my God, I am confounded & ashamed, to lift vp mine eyes vnto thee my God: for our iniquities are increased ouer our head, & our trespasse is growen vp vnto the heauen.
Legacy Standard Bible
and I said, "O my God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have multiplied above our heads and our guilt has become great even to the heavens.
Berean Standard Bible
and said: "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
Contemporary English Version
and prayed: I am much too ashamed to face you, Lord God. Our sins and our guilt have swept over us like a flood that reaches up to the heavens.
Complete Jewish Bible
and said, "My God, I am ashamed. I blush to lift my face to you, my God! For our sins tower over our heads; our guilt reaches up to heaven.
Darby Translation
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 to the heavens.
George Lamsa Translation
And said, O my God, we are ashamed to lift up our faces to thee, our God; for our iniquities are increased over our head and our great sins have reached to the very heavens.
Good News Translation
I said, "O God, I am too ashamed to raise my head in your presence. Our sins pile up higher than our heads; they reach as high as the heavens.
Lexham English Bible
and said, "My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God. For our sins have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
Literal Translation
And I said, O my God, I am ashamed and wounded to lift up my face to You, O my God. For our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown to the heavens.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde: My God, I am ashamed, and darre not lifte vp mine eies vnto the my God: for oure wickednesses are growne ouer oure heade, & oure trespaces are waxen greate vnto ye heaue.
American Standard Version
and I 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 guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens.
Bible in Basic English
I said, O my God, shame keeps me from lifting up my face to you, my God: for our sins are increased higher than our heads and our evil-doing has come up to heaven.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And sayde: My God, I am ashamed, and dare not lift vp myne eyes vnto thee my God: for our wickednesses are growen ouer our head, and our trespasse is waxed great vnto the heauen.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
and I 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 guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens.
King James Version (1611)
And said, O my God, I am ashamed, and blush to lift vp my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased ouer our head, and our trespasse is growen vp vnto the heauens.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and I said, O Lord, I am ashamed and confounded, O my God, to lift up my face to thee: for our transgressions have abounded over our head, and our trespasses have increased even to heaven.
English Revised Version
and I 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 guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and Y seide, My God, Y am confoundid and aschamed to reise my face to thee, for oure wickidnessis ben multiplied `on myn heed, and oure trespassis encreessiden `til to heuene,
Update Bible Version
and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.
Webster's Bible Translation
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 to the heavens.
New King James Version
And I said: "O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
New Living Translation
I prayed, "O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens.
New Life Bible
I said, "O my God, I am ashamed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our sins have risen above our heads. Our guilt has grown even to the heavens.
New Revised Standard
and said, "O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed 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.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and said, O my God, I turn pale and am ashamed, to lift up, O my God, my face unto thee, - for, our iniquities, have multiplied above the head, and our guilt hath magnified itself unto the heavens.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And said: My God I am confounded and ashamed to lift up my face to thee: for our iniquities are multiplied over our heads, and our sins are grown up even unto heaven,
Revised Standard Version
saying: "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.
Young's Literal Translation
and say, `O my God, I have been ashamed, and have blushed to lift up, O my God, my face unto Thee, for our iniquities have increased over the head, and our guilt hath become great unto the heavens.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and I said, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.

Contextual Overview

5 Then, when it was time for the evening sacrifice, I got up. I had made myself look shameful while I was sitting there. My robe and coat were torn, and I fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God. 6 Then I prayed this prayer: "My God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to look at you. I am ashamed because our sins are higher than our heads. Our guilt has reached all the way up to the heavens. 7 We have been guilty of many sins from the days of our ancestors until now. We sinned so our kings and priests were punished. Foreign kings attacked us and took our people away. They took away our wealth and made us ashamed. It is the same even today. 8 "But now, finally, you have been kind to us. You have let a few of us escape captivity and come to live in this holy place. Lord , you gave us new life and relief from our slavery. 9 Yes, we were slaves, but you would not let us be slaves forever. You were kind to us. You made the kings of Persia be kind to us. Your Temple was ruined, but you gave us new life so that we can rebuild your Temple and repair it like new. God, you helped us build a wall to protect Judah and Jerusalem. 10 "Now, God, what can we say to you? We have stopped obeying you again. 11 You used your servants the prophets to give these commands to us. You said, ‘The land you are going to live in and own is a ruined land. It has been ruined by evil things the people living there have done. They have done very bad things in every place in this land. They have made this land dirty with their sins. 12 So Israelites, don't let your children marry their children. Don't join them. Don't want the things they have. Obey my commands so that you will be strong and enjoy the good things of the land. And then you can keep this land and give it to your children.' 13 "What has happened to us is our own fault. We have done evil things, and we have much guilt. But you, our God, have punished us much less than we should have been. We have done many terrible sins, and we should have been punished worse. And you have even let some of our people escape captivity. 14 So we know that we must not break your commands. We must not marry those people. They do very bad things. God, if we continue to marry these bad people, we know you will destroy us. Then there would be no one from the Israelites left alive.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I am ashamed: Job 40:4, Job 42:6, Jeremiah 3:3, Jeremiah 3:24, Jeremiah 3:25, Jeremiah 6:15, Jeremiah 8:12, Jeremiah 31:19, Ezekiel 16:63, Daniel 9:7, Daniel 9:8, Romans 6:21

our iniquities: Genesis 13:13, Psalms 38:4, Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 59:12

trespass: or, guiltiness

grown up: 2 Chronicles 28:9, Luke 15:21, Revelation 18:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 18:27 - I have Exodus 32:31 - sinned Joshua 7:1 - committed 1 Kings 8:47 - saying 1 Kings 18:42 - put his face 2 Chronicles 6:37 - We have sinned Ezra 10:10 - to increase Nehemiah 1:6 - confess Nehemiah 9:2 - confessed Psalms 44:15 - confusion Psalms 106:6 - General Song of Solomon 2:14 - that art Song of Solomon 4:3 - thy temples Isaiah 24:5 - because Jeremiah 5:6 - because Jeremiah 14:7 - for our Jeremiah 14:20 - We acknowledge Jeremiah 30:15 - for the Jeremiah 44:3 - of their Jeremiah 51:9 - her judgment Ezekiel 14:13 - when Ezekiel 36:31 - shall ye Ezekiel 36:32 - be ashamed Daniel 9:5 - have sinned Hosea 2:5 - hath done Jonah 1:2 - for Zechariah 1:2 - Lord Matthew 18:24 - ten thousand Luke 18:13 - standing 2 Thessalonians 3:14 - that he

Cross-References

Genesis 4:14
You are forcing me to leave the land, and I will not be able to be near you or have a home! Now I must wander from place to place, and anyone I meet could kill me."
Genesis 5:1
This is the history of Adam's family. When God created people, he made them like himself.
Genesis 9:2
Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, every animal that crawls on the ground, and every fish in the sea will be afraid of you. All of them will be under your control.
Genesis 9:3
In the past, I gave you the green plants to eat. Now every animal will also be food for you. I give you everything on earth—it is yours.
Genesis 9:5
Also, I will demand your blood for your lives. That is, I will demand the life of any person or animal that takes a human life.
Genesis 9:6
"God made humans to be like himself. So whoever kills a person must be killed by another person.
Genesis 9:12
And God said, "I will give you something to prove that I made this promise to you. It will continue forever to show that I have made an agreement with you and every living thing on earth.
Genesis 9:14
When I bring clouds over the earth, you will see the rainbow in the clouds.
Genesis 9:26
Noah also said, "May the Lord , the God of Shem, be praised! May Canaan be Shem's slave.
Genesis 9:27
May God give more land to Japheth. May God live in Shem's tents, and may Canaan be their slave."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And said, O my God,.... Here begins the prayer of Ezra, and that with faith in God as covenant God, even when he was about to make confession of sin, and repentance for it; that prayer is right which is put up in faith, and that repentance genuine which is accompanied with faith, and flows from it:

I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; a true sight and sense of sin causes shame and blushing, and never more than when a man is sensible of his covenant interest in God, and of his grace and favour to him, particularly in the forgiveness of his sin, see Ezekiel 16:61

for our iniquities are increased over our head; arisen and swelled like mighty waters, which seemed to threaten an overwhelming of them:

and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens; being done in an open, public, and insolent manner, and in such numbers, that they were, as it were, piled up in heaps, reaching to heaven, and calling down vengeance from thence. Ezra includes himself as being one of the same nation; and these sins being so common were become national ones, which involved all the individuals, and exposed them to the divine resentment.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezra 9:6. 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.


 
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