English Standard Version
Ezra 10:3
3Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law.
Ezra 10:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
- New International Version (NIV)Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children. We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law of God.
Context of Ezra 10:3
1While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. 2And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: "We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law. 4Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it." 5Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.
Read all of Ezra 10Ezra 10:3 word by word
וְעַתָּ֣ה נִֽכְרָת־בְּרִ֣ית לֵ֠אלֹהֵינוּ לְהוֹצִ֨יא כָל־נָשִׁ֜ים וְהַנּוֹלָ֤ד מֵהֶם֙ בַּעֲצַ֣ת אֲדֹנָ֔י וְהַחֲרֵדִ֖ים בְּמִצְוַ֣ת אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְכַתּוֹרָ֖ה יֵעָשֶֽׂה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now therefore let us makeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
- a covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
- with our Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- to put awayיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: sendH3318
- all the wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- and such as are bornיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- of them, according to the counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
- of my lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- and of those that trembleחָרֵדchârêd · tremblingH2730
- at the commandmentמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
- and let it be doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- according to the lawתּוֹרָהtôrâh tôrâh · instructionH8451
Cross-references for Ezra 10:3
- Deuteronomy 29:12so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today,
- Joshua 9:6And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us."
- 2 Kings 11:17And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord's people, and also between the king and the people.
- 2 Chronicles 29:10Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us.
- 2 Chronicles 34:31And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
- Nehemiah 9:38"Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.
- Nehemiah 10:29join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes.
- 2 Chronicles 30:12The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.
- Ezra 9:4Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.
- 2 Chronicles 34:21"Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book."
- Psalms 119:59When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies;
- Isaiah 66:2All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
- Ezekiel 9:4And the Lord said to him, "Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it."
- Deuteronomy 7:2and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them.
- Joshua 23:12For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,
- Nehemiah 8:14And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month,
Commentaries on Ezra 10:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Let us make a covenant - ברית נכרת nichrath berith, let us cut or divide the covenant sacrifice. See the notes on Genesis 15:10.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Let it be done according to the law - i. e., let a formal “bill of divorcement” be given to each foreign wife, whereby she will be restored to the condition of an unmarried woman, and be free to marry another husband (see Deuteronomy 24:1-2). The facility of divorce among the Jews is well-known. According to many of the rabbis, a bill of divorcement might he given by the husband for the most trivial cause. Thus, no legal difficulty stood in the way of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3A covenant is a binding agreement. In this case, it refers to divorcing pagan wives whom the people of Israel had married inappropriately. By doing this, they would renew their commitment to the Sinai covenant. Women usually received custody of their children when a marriage ended (compare Hagar and Ishmael, Genesis 21:14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-42-4. Shechaniah ... answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed--This was one of the leading men, who was not himself a delinquent in the matter, for his name does not occur in the following list. He spoke in the general name of the people, and his conduct evinced a tender conscience, as well as no small fortitude in making such a proposal; for as his father and five paternal uncles (Ezr 10:26) were involved in the guilt of unlawful marriages, he…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 10:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezra 10
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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