Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.
Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled ... All the pious people who reverenced God's word, and dreaded its threatenings and judgments, joined with Ezra in bewailing the public sin, and devising the means of redressing it.
I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice, х mªshowmeem (H8074)] - the primary idea being that of silence, this participle signifies stupified, struck dumb. The intelligence of so gross a violation of God's law by those who had been carried into captivity on account of their sins, and who, though restored, were yet unreformed, produced such a stunning effect on the mind of Ezra, that he remained for awhile incapable either of speech or of action. The hour of the evening sacrifice was the usual time of the people assembling, and at that season, having again rent his hair and garments, he made public prayer and confession of sin.