Ezra 10:3
What does Ezra 10:3 mean?
A plain-English look at Ezra 10:3 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Ezra 10:3 means
Shecaniah proposes a solemn covenant with God to put away the foreign wives and the children born to them, acting according to the counsel of Ezra and those who fear God’s commandment. He insists it be done “according to the law,” highlighting that repentance must align with God’s revealed will, not impulsive zeal. The remedy is painful, costly, and complex, yet it prioritizes the community’s fidelity to God over personal preferences. The plan seeks accountability and wisdom: leaders will guide it, and those who “tremble” at God’s word will help ensure it honors God’s standards and does not devolve into disorderly harshness or partiality.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Now 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.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Now 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.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Now 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.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Let us now make an agreement with our God to put away all the wives and all their children, if it seems right to my lord and to those who go in fear of the words of our God; and let it be done in keeping with the law.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and now, let us make a covenant with our God, to cause all the women to go out, and that which is born of them, by the counsel of the Lord, and of those trembling at the command of our God, and according to law it is done;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Let us make a covenant with the Lord our God, to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the will of the Lord, and of them that fear the commandment of the Lord our God: let it be done according to the law.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And now let us make a covenant with ourGod 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 commandments of ourGod; and let it be done according to the law.
Context
Having acknowledged sin and voiced hope, the assembly now hears a specific proposal: make a covenant and take corrective action in a lawful, orderly way. This verse lays out the backbone of the coming process. In the next verses, Ezra will be urged to lead courageously, an oath will be taken to confirm the plan, and structures will be formed to carry it through. The insistence on doing everything “according to the law” anticipates the measured, months-long investigation that follows, rather than a hasty or vindictive purge.
v.2And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.
v.3This passage
v.4Arise; for the matter belongeth unto thee, and we are with thee: be of good courage, and do it.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 2 Chronicles 34:27
because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and hast humbled thyself before me, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith Jehovah.
- Nehemiah 10:29
they clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into 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 Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
- Deuteronomy 7:2
and when Jehovah thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;
- Isaiah 8:20
To the law and to the testimony! if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
- Nehemiah 9:38
And yet for all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal unto it.
- Deuteronomy 29:12
that thou mayest enter into the covenant of Jehovah thy God, and into his oath, which Jehovah thy God maketh with thee this day;