Bible Strands
Ezra 8:31
On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the departure of the returned exiles from the Ahava Canal toward Jerusalem on the twelfth day of the first month.
The words — וַֽ/נִּסְעָ֞/ה (va./nis.'A/h) = and/we set out, and מִ/נְּהַ֣ר אַֽהֲוָ֗א (mi./ne.Har 'a.ha.Va) = from the river of Ahava.
The thread — This departure concludes the assembly and fasting at the Ahava Canal (Ezra 8:15, Ezra 8:21) and the weighing of the sacred treasures (Ezra 8:30), directly preceding the three-day rest upon reaching Jerusalem (Ezra 8:32).
Why it lands — The text states God’s hand protected the group from enemies and bandits, requiring the reader to acknowledge the journey’s safety as divinely secured rather than dependent on human military strength.
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 we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.
Cross-references
- Ezra 7:9 He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him.
- Ezra 8:15 Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there.
- 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.
- Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
- Acts 26:22 But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
- Ezra 7:28 and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials. And because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.
- Psalms 91:9 Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—my refuge, the Most High—
- Job 5:19 He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
- Acts 25:3 to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.