Ezra 9:10 (GNV)

Passage

And nowe, our God, what shall we say after this? for we haue forsaken thy commandements,

Nearby Context

Ezra 9:8 And now for a litle space grace hath bene shewed from the Lord our God, in causing a remnant to escape, and in giuing vs a nayle in his holy place, that our God may light our eyes, and giue vs a litle reuiuing in our seruitude.

Ezra 9:9 For though we were bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken vs in our bondage, but hath enclined mercy vnto vs in the sight of the Kings of Persia, to giue vs life, and to erect the house of our God, and to redresse the places thereof, and to giue vs a wall in Iudah and in Ierusalem.

Ezra 9:10 And nowe, our God, what shall we say after this? for we haue forsaken thy commandements,

Ezra 9:11 Which thou hast commanded by thy seruants the Prophets, saying, The land whereunto ye go to possesse it, is an vncleane land, because of the filthines of the people of the lands, which by their abominations, and by their vncleannes haue filled it from corner to corner.

Ezra 9:12 Now therfore shall ye not giue your daughters vnto their sonnes, neither shall ye take their daughters vnto your sonnes, nor seeke their peace nor wealth for euer, that yee may be strong and eate the goodnes of the lande, and leaue it for an inheritance to your sonnes for euer.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nowe", "shall", "after", "haue", "forsaken", and "commandements". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nowe" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "For though we were bondmen yet our..." into verse 11's "Which thou hast commanded by thy seruants...", so "nowe" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Ezra context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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