Berean Standard Bible
Ezra 9:3
3When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.
Ezra 9:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.
- New International Version (NIV)When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled.
- English Standard Version (ESV)As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.
Context of Ezra 9:3
1After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!” When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror. 4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, while I sat there in horror until the evening offering. 5At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
Read all of Ezra 9Ezra 9:3 word by word
וּכְשָׁמְעִי֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה קָרַ֥עְתִּי אֶת־בִּגְדִ֖י וּמְעִילִ֑י וָאֶמְרְטָ֞ה מִשְּׂעַ֤ר רֹאשִׁי֙ וּזְקָנִ֔י וָאֵשְׁבָ֖ה מְשׁוֹמֵֽם׃Read the interlinear
- When I heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
- reportדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
- I toreקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
- my tunicבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
- and cloakמְעִילme‛îyl · robeH4598
- pulled outמָרַטmâraţ · to smoothH4803
- some hairשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
- from my headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- and beardזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206
- and sat downיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- in horrorשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: appalledH8074
Cross-references for Ezra 9:3
- Joshua 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
- 2 Kings 18:37Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
- 2 Kings 19:1On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
- Job 1:20Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,
- Jeremiah 36:24Yet in hearing all these words, the king and his servants did not become frightened or tear their garments.
- Leviticus 21:5Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
- Nehemiah 13:25I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!
- Isaiah 15:2Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
- Jeremiah 7:29Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’
- Jeremiah 48:37For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
- Ezekiel 7:18They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.
- Micah 1:16Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.
- Nehemiah 1:4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
- Job 2:12When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.
- Psalms 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You.
- Psalms 143:4My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me.
Commentaries on Ezra 9:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3I rent my garment and my mantle - The outer and inner garment, in sign of great grief. This significant act is frequently mentioned in the sacred writings, and was common among all ancient nations. Plucked off the hair - Shaving the head and beard were signs of excessive grief; much more so the plucking off the hair, which must produce exquisite pain. All this testified his abhorrence, not merely of the act of having taken strange wives, but their having…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Plucking out the hair with the hands, so common among the Classical nations, is, comparatively speaking, rarely mentioned as practiced by Asiatics.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3sat down in horror: Compare Genesis 37:34; 2 Kings 22:11; Job 1:20.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, &c.--the outer and inner garment, which was a token not only of great grief, but of dread at the same time of the divine wrath; plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard--which was a still more significant sign of overpowering grief.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 9:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezra 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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