| Verse | Translation | Text |
| Ezr 9:9 | Strong Concordance | For we were bondmen [05650]; yet our God [0430] hath not forsaken [05800] us in our bondage [05659], but hath extended [05186] mercy [02617] unto us in the sight [06440] of the kings [04428] of Persia [06539], to give [05414] us a reviving [04241], to set up [07311] the house [01004] of our God [0430], and to repair [05975] the desolations [02723] thereof, and to give [05414] us a wall [01447] in Judah [03063] and in Jerusalem [03389]. |
| King James | For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
| We were bondmen - Rather, "we are bondmen" (compare the marginal reference). The Israelites, though returned from the captivity, were still "bondmen." The Persian monarch was their absolute lord and master. |