Bible Strands
Ezra 8:21
And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ezra speaks in first person, addressing the returning exiles he is leading, at the river Ahava on the route from Babylon to Judah, before departure.
The words — The Hebrew reads הַנָּהָר (hānāhār), "the river," not "canal" as the BSB renders it; the Ahava is a waterway, and the preposition עַל (ʿal) places them "at" it, a specific stopping point on the road. The hithpael form הִתְעַנּוֹת (hitʿānōt) is reflexive: they humble themselves, not passively receive humility.
The thread — The pattern of a proclaimed fast preceding a crisis or journey recurs in 2 Chronicles 20:3 (Jehoshaphat before battle), 1 Samuel 7:6 (Israel at Mizpah), and Joel 1:14 (corporate summons to the house of the LORD).
Why it lands — The next verse (8:22) reveals what this fast replaced: a request for a royal military escort. The verse asks the reader to treat dependence on God as a concrete, costly choice rather than a default assumption.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 20:3 Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
- Joel 1:14 Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 7:6 When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
- Isaiah 30:21 And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
- Jonah 3:5 And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
- Leviticus 16:29 This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you—
- Leviticus 23:29 If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people.
- Psalms 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
- Psalms 143:8 Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
- Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.