Ezra 9:3

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 done, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2Indeed, the Israelite men have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!” When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and robe, pulled out some of the hair from my head and beard, and sat down devastated. 4Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, while I sat devastated until the evening offering. 5At the evening offering, I got up from my time of humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God.

Ezra 9:3 word by word

וּכְשָׁמְעִי֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה קָרַ֥עְתִּי אֶת־בִּגְדִ֖י וּמְעִילִ֑י וָאֶמְרְטָ֞ה מִשְּׂעַ֤ר רֹאשִׁי֙ וּזְקָנִ֔י וָאֵשְׁבָ֖ה מְשׁוֹמֵֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when I heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• this thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• I rentקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
• my garmentבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• and my mantleמְעִילme‛îyl · robeH4598
• and plucked offמָרַטmâraţ · to smoothH4803
• the hairשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
• of my headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• and of my beardזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206
• and sat downיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• astoniedשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: appalledH8074

Cross-references for Ezra 9:3

• Joshua 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, as did the elders of Israel; they all put dust on their heads.
• 2 Kings 18:37Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the royal spokesman.
• 2 Kings 19:1When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the Lord’s temple.
• Job 1:20Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,
• Jeremiah 36:24As they heard all these words, the king and all his servants did not become terrified or tear their clothes.
• Leviticus 21:5“Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.
• Nehemiah 13:25I rebuked them, cursed them, beat some of their men, and pulled out their hair. I forced them to 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 yourselves!
• Isaiah 15:2Dibon went up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails on Nebo and at Medeba. Every head is shaved; every beard is chopped short.
• Jeremiah 7:29Cut off the hair of your sacred vow and throw it away. Raise up a dirge on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned the generation under his wrath.’
• Jeremiah 48:37Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short. On every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist.
• Ezekiel 7:18They will put on sackcloth, and horror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be bald.
• Micah 1:16Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in sorrow for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they have been taken from you into exile.
• Nehemiah 1:4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
• Job 2:12When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.
• Psalms 66:3Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are your works! Your enemies will cringe before you because of your great strength.
• Psalms 143:4My spirit is weak within me; my heart is overcome with dismay.

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

• Beard
• Dress
• Mantle
• Mourning
• Rending

In the dictionaries

• Beard
• Chief
• Escaping
• Hair
• Join
• Mingle
• Captivity
• Esdras, the First Book of
• Peel; Pill
• Proselyte

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