Ezra 10:3

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of Ezra 10:3

1Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women, and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept greatly. 2Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. So now let’s make a covenant with our God to send away all the wives and their children, following the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the Law. 4Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.” 5Then Ezra stood and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel take an oath that they would do according to this proposal; so they took the oath.

Ezra 10:3 word by word

וְעַתָּ֣ה נִֽכְרָת־בְּרִ֣ית לֵ֠אלֹהֵינוּ לְהוֹצִ֨יא כָל־נָשִׁ֜ים וְהַנּוֹלָ֤ד מֵהֶם֙ בַּעֲצַ֣ת אֲדֹנָ֔י וְהַחֲרֵדִ֖ים בְּמִצְוַ֣ת אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְכַתּוֹרָ֖ה יֵעָשֶֽׂה׃Read the interlinear

• So nowעַתָּ֫ה‛attâh · nowH6258
• let’s makeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
• a covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• with our Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• to sendיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• the wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• their childrenיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• following the counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
• my lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
• 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 covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath which the Lord your God is making with you today,
• Joshua 9:6And they went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now then, make a covenant with us.”
• 2 Kings 11:17Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, that they would be the Lord’s people, and between the king and the people.
• 2 Chronicles 29:10Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that His burning anger may turn away from us.
• 2 Chronicles 34:31Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that are written in this book.
• Nehemiah 9:38“Now because of all this We are making an agreement in writing; And on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites, and our priests.”
• Nehemiah 10:29are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given through Moses, God’s servant, and to keep and to comply with all the commandments of God our Lord, and His ordinances and 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 everyone who was frightened by the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering.
• 2 Chronicles 34:21“Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for the wrath of the Lord which has poured out on us is great, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book.”
• Psalms 119:59I considered my ways And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
• Isaiah 66:2For My hand made all these things, So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. “But I will look to this one, At one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word.
• Ezekiel 9:4And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and make a mark on the foreheads of the people who groan and sigh over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.”
• Deuteronomy 7:2and when the Lord your God turns them over to you and you defeat them, you shall utterly destroy them. You shall not make a covenant with them nor be gracious to them.
• Joshua 23:12For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,
• Nehemiah 8:14And they found written in the Law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel were to live 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

• Church
• Decision
• Divorce
• Ezra
• Fear of God
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• God
• Covenant
• Shecaniah
• Transgression
• Trespass
• Azaelus
• Bacchurus
• Covenant, in the Old Testament
• Esdras, the First Book of
• Genealogy

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