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 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

1Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. 2And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. 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. 4Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.” 5Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an 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

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 29:12that you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today,
• Joshua 9:6And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.”
• 2 Kings 11:17Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people, and also between the king and the people.
• 2 Chronicles 29:10“Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.
• 2 Chronicles 34:31Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow 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“And because of all this, We make a sure covenant and write it; Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it.”
• Nehemiah 10:29these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:
• 2 Chronicles 30:12Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the Lord.
• Ezra 9:4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.
• 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 that is 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 119:59I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
• Isaiah 66:2For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite 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 put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
• Deuteronomy 7:2and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.
• Joshua 23:12Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you,
• Nehemiah 8:14And they found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children 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

• 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