New International Version
Ezra 9:3
3When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked.
Context of Ezra 9:3
1After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.” When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 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. 5Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God
Read all of Ezra 9Ezra 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, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.
- 2 Kings 18:37Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.
- 2 Kings 19:1When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.
- Job 1:20At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship
- Jeremiah 36:24The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes.
- Leviticus 21:5“ ‘Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.
- Nehemiah 13:25I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.
- Isaiah 15:2Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off.
- Jeremiah 7:29“ ‘Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.
- Jeremiah 48:37Every head is shaved and every beard cut off; every hand is slashed and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
- Ezekiel 7:18They will put on sackcloth and be clothed with terror. Every face will be covered with shame, and every head will be shaved.
- Micah 1:16Shave your head in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourself as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.
- Nehemiah 1:4When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
- Job 2:12When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.
- Psalms 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
- Psalms 143:4So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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