Ezra 10:1 (ASV)

Passage

Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together unto him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore.

Nearby Context

Ezra 10:1 Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together unto him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore.

Ezra 10:2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.

Ezra 10:3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ezra", "prayed", "confession", "weeping", "casting", "himself", "down", and "before". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ezra" and "prayed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel one...", so "ezra" and "prayed" should be read forward into that movement. In Ezra context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "ezra" and "prayed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.