Ezra 10:8
What does Ezra 10:8 mean?
A plain-English look at Ezra 10:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Ezra 10:8 means
The decree sets a firm three-day deadline: anyone who fails to come, as advised by the princes and elders, will forfeit all possessions and be separated from the assembly of the captivity. These penalties emphasize that covenant faithfulness is not optional and that communal holiness requires participation. Forfeiture and exclusion are severe, but they fit the gravity of the threat to Israel’s identity and worship. The elders’ counsel shows that this is not unilateral but deliberated. The measures aim to secure full attendance so the matter can be resolved justly and uniformly, preventing evasion and ensuring that everyone is under the same standard.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And that if anyone did not come before three days were past, as ordered by the rulers and the responsible men, all his goods would be put under the curse, and he himself would be cut off from the meeting of the people who had come back.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and every one who cometh not in by the third day, according to the counsel of the heads and of the elders, all his substance is devoted, and himself separated from the assembly of the removal.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the ancients, all his substance should be taken away, and he should be cast out of the company of them that were returned from captivity.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890and that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be confiscated, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
Context
The proclamation gains teeth through specified consequences, ensuring that the assembly is truly representative and binding. With time set and penalties clear, the narrative proceeds swiftly to the gathering itself. Next, we will see the people arrive within the three-day window, sitting in the open square before the temple amid heavy rain, visibly shaken by the gravity of the situation. That setting heightens the solemnity of Ezra’s coming address and the people’s collective response.
v.7And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;
v.8This passage
v.9Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within the three days (it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month); and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- John 16:2
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.
- Joshua 6:19
But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy unto Jehovah: they shall come into the treasury of Jehovah.
- Nehemiah 13:3
And it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.
- Ezra 7:26
And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
- Matthew 18:17
And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican.
- John 9:22
These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.