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

1When these things had been done, the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.” When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked. 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. 5At the time of the sacrifice, I stood up from where I had sat in mourning with my clothes torn. I fell to my knees and lifted 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

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 7:6Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until evening.
• 2 Kings 18:37Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.
• 2 Kings 19:1When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord.
• Job 1:20Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.
• Jeremiah 36:24Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard.
• Leviticus 21:5“The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies.
• Nehemiah 13:25So I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear in the name of God that they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people of the land.
• Isaiah 15:2Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn. They will go to their sacred shrines to weep. They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba, shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards.
• Jeremiah 7:29Shave your head in mourning, and weep alone on the mountains. For the Lord has rejected and forsaken this generation that has provoked his fury.’
• Jeremiah 48:37The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap.
• Ezekiel 7:18They will dress themselves in burlap; horror and shame will cover them. They will shave their heads in sorrow and remorse.
• Micah 1:16Oh, people of Judah, shave your heads in sorrow, for the children you love will be snatched away. Make yourselves as bald as a vulture, for your little ones will be exiled to distant lands.
• Nehemiah 1:4When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.
• Job 2:12When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief.
• Psalms 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
• Psalms 143:4I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.

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