I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers. Before he apprehended danger Ezra had boasted to Artaxerxes of the power and goodness of God, and had spoken of himself and his brethren as assured of the Divine protection.
Now that peril threatened he found himself afraid, and would have been glad of such an escort as Nehemiah obtained at a later date (Nehemiah 2:9). But after his boasts he was ashamed to confess his fear.
Who the enemy in the way was it is impossible to decide; but we may gather from verse 31 that it was no imaginary foe. Probably some of the Arab tribes, who owed no allegiance to Persia, had formed a design to intercept the caravan and plunder it.