New Living Translation
Ezra 10:3
3Let 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.
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
1While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him. 2Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But in spite of this there is hope for Israel. 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. 4Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action.” 5So Ezra stood up and demanded that the leaders of the priests and the Levites and all the people of Israel swear that they would do as Shecaniah had said. And they all swore a solemn 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 today to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God. The Lord is making this covenant, including the curses.
- Joshua 9:6When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.”
- 2 Kings 11:17Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people.
- 2 Chronicles 29:10But now I will 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 took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord’s presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll.
- Nehemiah 9:38The people responded, “In view of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests.”
- Nehemiah 10:29joined their leaders and bound themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord our Lord:
- 2 Chronicles 30:12At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the Lord.
- Ezra 9:4Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel came and sat with me because of this outrage committed by the returned exiles. And I sat there utterly appalled until the time of the evening sacrifice.
- 2 Chronicles 34:21“Go to the Temple and speak to the Lord for me and for all the remnant of Israel and Judah. Inquire about the words written in the scroll that has been found. For the Lord’s great anger has been poured out on us because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the Lord. We have not been doing everything this scroll says we must do.”
- Psalms 119:59I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws.
- Isaiah 66:2My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.
- Ezekiel 9:4He said to him, “Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city.”
- Deuteronomy 7:2When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy.
- Joshua 23:12“But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them,
- Nehemiah 8:14As they studied the Law, they discovered that the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that 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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