Ezra 9

Ezra is appalled to learn that the people, priests, and Levites have not kept themselves separate but have intermarried with the surrounding peoples and their idolatrous practices, the very sin that led to the exile. He tears his garment, pulls out his hair, and sits appalled, then falls on his knees at the evening sacrifice and pours out a prayer of confession, acknowledging the nation’s guilt and marveling at the “brief moment” of grace God has shown in leaving them a remnant.