Ezra 9:6 (WEB)

Passage

and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.

Nearby Context

Ezra 9:4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel were assembled to me, because of their trespass of the captivity; and I sat confounded until the evening offering.

Ezra 9:5 At the evening offering I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God;

Ezra 9:6 and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.

Ezra 9:7 Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

Ezra 9:8 Now for a little moment grace has been shown from Yahweh our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and revived us a little in our bondage.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "iniquities", "said", "ashamed", "blush", "lift", "face", "increased", and "over". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "iniquities" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "At the evening offering I arose up..." into verse 7's "Since the days of our fathers we...", so "iniquities" and "said" 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 "iniquities" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.