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

1Now when these things had been completed, the officials approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, as to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy line has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the officials and the leaders have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness.” When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled out some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled. 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. 5But at the evening offering I stood up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down 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

• When I heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• about thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• matterדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• toreקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
• my garmentבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• and my robeמְעִילme‛îyl · robeH4598
• and pulledמָרַטmâraţ · to smoothH4803
• someמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• of the hairשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
• from my headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• and my beardזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206
• satיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• appalledשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: appalledH8074

Cross-references for Ezra 9:3

• Joshua 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
• 2 Kings 18:37Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.
• 2 Kings 19:1Now when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord.
• Job 1:20Then Job got up, tore his robe, and shaved his head; then he fell to the ground and worshiped.
• Jeremiah 36:24Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did not tremble in fear, nor did they tear their garments.
• Leviticus 21:5They shall not shave any area on their heads bald, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh.
• Nehemiah 13:25So I quarreled with them and cursed them, and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
• Isaiah 15:2The people have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off.
• Jeremiah 7:29Cut off your hair and throw it away, And take up a song of mourning on the bare heights; For the Lord has rejected and forsaken The generation of His wrath.’
• Jeremiah 48:37For every head is shaved bald, and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands, and sackcloth around the waists.
• Ezekiel 7:18They will put on sackcloth and shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces, and a bald patch on all their heads.
• Micah 1:16Shave yourself bald, yes, cut off your hair, Because of the children of your delight; Extend your baldness like the eagle, For they will go from you into exile.
• Nehemiah 1:4Now when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
• Job 2:12When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe, and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.
• Psalms 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will pretend to obey You.
• Psalms 143:4Therefore my spirit feels weak within me; My heart is appalled within 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

• 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