New International Version
Ezra 10:3
3Now 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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 was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. 2Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. 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. 4Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.” 5So Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been suggested. And 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 29:12You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath,
- Joshua 9:6Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
- 2 Kings 11:17Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people.
- 2 Chronicles 29:10Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.
- 2 Chronicles 34:31The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.
- Nehemiah 9:38“In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”
- Nehemiah 10:29all these now join their fellow Israelites the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 30:12Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.
- Ezra 9:4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.
- 2 Chronicles 34:21“Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”
- Psalms 119:59I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.
- Isaiah 66:2Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.
- Ezekiel 9:4and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
- Deuteronomy 7:2and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.
- Joshua 23:12“But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them,
- Nehemiah 8:14They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival 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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