Passage
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.
Ezra 9:6 (YLT)
Nearby Context
Ezra 9:4 and unto me are gathered every one trembling at the words of the God of Israel, because of the trespass of the removal, and I am sitting astonished till the present of the evening.
Ezra 9:5 And at the present of the evening I have risen from mine affliction, and at my rending my garment and my upper robe, then I bow down on my knees, and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God,
Ezra 9:6 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.
Ezra 9:7 `From the days of our fathers we <FI>are<Fi> in great guilt unto this day, and in our iniquities we have been given--we, our kings, our priests--into the hand of the kings of the lands, with sword, with captivity, and with spoiling, and with shame of face, as <FI>at<Fi> this day.
Ezra 9:8 `And now, as a small moment hath grace been from Jehovah our God, to leave to us an escape, and to give to us a nail in His holy place, by our God's enlightening our eyes, and by giving us a little quickening in our servitude;
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "iniquities", "been", "ashamed", "blushed", "lift", "face", "thee", and "increased". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "iniquities" and "been", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 5's "And at the present of the evening..." into verse 7's "From the days of our fathers we...", so "iniquities" and "been" 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 "been" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.