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Let it be done according to the Law. <a href="/nlt/ezra/10.htm">New Living Translation</a> 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. <a href="/esv/ezra/10.htm">English Standard Version</a> 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. <a href="/bsb/ezra/10.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a> So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. <a href="/kjv/ezra/10.htm">King James Bible</a> 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. <a href="/nkjv/ezra/10.htm">New King James Version</a> 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. <a href="/nasb_/ezra/10.htm">New American Standard Bible</a> So now let’s make a covenant with our God to send away all the wives and their children, following the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the Law. <a href="/nasb/ezra/10.htm">NASB 1995</a> &#8220So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the 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. <a href="/nasb77/ezra/10.htm">NASB 1977 </a> “So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the 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. <a href="/lsb/ezra/10.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a> So now let us cut a covenant with our God to put away all the 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. <a href="/amp/ezra/10.htm">Amplified Bible</a> Therefore let us now make a covenant with our God to send away all the [foreign] wives and their children, in accordance with the advice of my lord and of those who tremble [in reverent obedience] at the commandment of our God; and let it be done in accordance with the Law. <a href="/csb/ezra/10.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a> Therefore, let’s make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law. <a href="/hcsb/ezra/10.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a> Let us therefore make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law. <a href="/asv/ezra/10.htm">American Standard Version</a> 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. <a href="/cev/ezra/10.htm">Contemporary English Version</a> if we follow your advice and the advice of others who truly respect the laws of God. We must promise God that we will divorce our foreign wives and send them away, together with their children. <a href="/erv/ezra/10.htm">English Revised Version</a> 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. <a href="/gwt/ezra/10.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a> So we must now make a promise to our God to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them, as my lord [Ezra] and the others who tremble at the commandments of our God have advised us to do. We must do what Moses' Teachings tell us. <a href="/gnt/ezra/10.htm">Good News Translation</a> Now we must make a solemn promise to our God that we will send these women and their children away. We will do what you and the others who honor God's commands advise us to do. We will do what God's Law demands. <a href="/isv/ezra/10.htm">International Standard Version</a> So let's make a promise to our God by which we divorce all of these foreign wives—as well as those born to them—in accordance with the counsel of our Lord and of those who tremble at our God's command. Furthermore, let it be done according to the Law. <a href="/msb/ezra/10.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a> So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. <a href="/net/ezra/10.htm">NET Bible</a> Therefore let us enact a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, and that of those who respect the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law. <a href="/nheb/ezra/10.htm">New Heart English Bible</a> 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 who tremble at the commandment of our God. Let it be done according to the law. <a href="/wbt/ezra/10.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a> 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. <a href="/web/ezra/10.htm">World English Bible</a> Now therefore let’s make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and those who are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God. Let it be done according to the law. <div class="vheading2">Literal Translations</div><a href="/lsv/ezra/10.htm">Literal Standard Version</a> and 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; <a href="/ylt/ezra/10.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a> and 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; <a href="/slt/ezra/10.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a> And now we will cut out a covenant to our God to bring forth all the wives, and those being born of them upon the counsel of my lord, and of those trembling at the command of our God; and according to the law it shall be done.<div class="vheading2">Catholic Translations</div><a href="/drb/ezra/10.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a> Let 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. <a href="/cpdv/ezra/10.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a> let us strike a pact with the Lord our God, so that we may cast aside all the wives, and those who have been born from them, in accord with the will of the Lord, and of those who fear the precept of the Lord our God. So let it be done, according to the law. <a href="/nabre/ezra/10.htm">New American Bible</a> Let us therefore enter into a covenant before our God to dismiss all our foreign wives and the children born of them, in keeping with what you, my lord, advise, and those who are in dread of the commandments of our God. Let it be done according to the law! <a href="/nrsvce/ezra/10.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a> So now let us make a covenant with our God to send 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.<div class="vheading2">Translations from Aramaic</div><a href="/lamsa/ezra/10.htm">Lamsa Bible</a> Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the alien wives and those who are born of them, according to the counsel of the LORD and of those who tremble at the law of our God and his commandment; do it now and be strong. <a href="/hpbt/ezra/10.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a> And now we will speak an oath before our God, to cast out all foreign women and those who were born of them, and according to the counsel of LORD JEHOVAH, and those who are in awe of the law of our God, act and be strong!<div class="vheading2">OT Translations</div><a href="/jps/ezra/10.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a> 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 the LORD, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. <a href="/sep/ezra/10.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a> Now then let us make a covenant with our God, to put away all the wives, and their offspring, as thou shalt advise: <a href="/parallel/ezra/10-3.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv">Audio Bible</div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sh6ec6iQe9M?start=2545" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="vheadingv">Context</div><a href="/bsb/ezra/10.htm">Shecaniah's Encouragement</a> …2Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel. 3<a href="/hebrew/6258.htm" title="6258: wə·‘at·tāh (Conj-w:: Adv) -- Now. From eth; at this time, whether adverb, conjunction or expletive.">So now</a> <a href="/hebrew/3772.htm" title="3772: niḵ·rāṯ- (V-Qal-Imperf.h-1cp) -- To cut off, cut down. A primitive root; to cut; by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant.">let us make</a> <a href="/hebrew/1285.htm" title="1285: bə·rîṯ (N-fs) -- A covenant. From barah (like bara'); a compact.">a covenant</a> <a href="/hebrew/430.htm" title="430: lê·lō·hê·nū (Prep-l:: N-mpc:: 1cp) -- Plural of 'elowahh; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used of the supreme God">before our God</a> <a href="/hebrew/3318.htm" title="3318: lə·hō·w·ṣî (Prep-l:: V-Hifil-Inf) -- A primitive root; to go out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim.">to send away</a> <a href="/hebrew/3605.htm" title="3605: ḵāl (N-msc) -- The whole, all. Or kowl; from kalal; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every.">all</a> <a href="/hebrew/802.htm" title="802: nā·šîm (N-fp) -- Woman, wife, female. Feminine of 'iysh or 'enowsh; irregular plural, nashiym; a woman.">the foreign wives</a> <a href="/hebrew/3205.htm" title="3205: wə·han·nō·w·lāḏ (Conj-w, Art:: V-Nifal-Prtcpl-ms) -- A primitive root; to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage.">and their children,</a> <a href="/hebrew/mê·hem (Prep-m:: Pro-3mp) -- "></a> <a href="/hebrew/6098.htm" title="6098: ba·‘ă·ṣaṯ (Prep-b:: N-fsc) -- Counsel, advice. From ya'ats; advice; by implication, plan; also prudence.">according to the counsel</a> <a href="/hebrew/136.htm" title="136: ’ă·ḏō·nāy (N-ms) -- Lord. Am emphatic form of 'adown; the Lord.">of my lord</a> <a href="/hebrew/2730.htm" title="2730: wə·ha·ḥă·rê·ḏîm (Conj-w, Art:: Adj-mp) -- Fearful, reverential. From charad; fearful; also reverential.">and of those who tremble</a> <a href="/hebrew/4687.htm" title="4687: bə·miṣ·waṯ (Prep-b:: N-fsc) -- Commandment. From tsavah; a command, whether human or divine.">at the command</a> <a href="/hebrew/430.htm" title="430: ’ĕ·lō·hê·nū (N-mpc:: 1cp) -- Plural of 'elowahh; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used of the supreme God">of our God.</a> <a href="/hebrew/6213.htm" title="6213: yê·‘ā·śeh (V-Nifal-Imperf-3ms) -- To do, make. A primitive root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application.">Let it be done</a> <a href="/hebrew/8451.htm" title="8451: wə·ḵat·tō·w·rāh (Conj-w, Prep-k, Art:: N-fs) -- Direction, instruction, law. Or torah; from yarah; a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch.">according to the Law.</a> 4Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we will support you. Be strong and take action!”…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div> <a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><a href="/deuteronomy/7-3.htm">Deuteronomy 7:3-4</a> Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, / because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you. <a href="/nehemiah/13-23.htm">Nehemiah 13:23-27</a> In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. / Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of the other peoples, but could not speak the language of Judah. / I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! ... <a href="/exodus/34-15.htm">Exodus 34:15-16</a> Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. / And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same. <a href="/1_kings/11-1.htm">1 Kings 11:1-2</a> King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. <a href="/malachi/2-11.htm">Malachi 2:11-12</a> Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. / As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and aware—even if he brings an offering to the LORD of Hosts. <a href="/2_corinthians/6-14.htm">2 Corinthians 6:14-17</a> Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? / What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? / What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” ... <a href="/joshua/23-12.htm">Joshua 23:12-13</a> For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them, / know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you. <a href="/1_corinthians/7-12.htm">1 Corinthians 7:12-14</a> To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. / And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. / For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. <a href="/judges/3-5.htm">Judges 3:5-6</a> Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. / And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. <a href="/2_kings/17-33.htm">2 Kings 17:33-34</a> They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had been carried away. / To this day they are still practicing their former customs. None of them worship the LORD or observe the statutes, ordinances, laws, and commandments that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom He named Israel. <a href="/1_corinthians/5-9.htm">1 Corinthians 5:9-13</a> I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. / I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. / But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. ... <a href="/2_chronicles/19-2.htm">2 Chronicles 19:2</a> Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you. <a href="/matthew/19-9.htm">Matthew 19:9</a> Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” <a href="/1_peter/2-9.htm">1 Peter 2:9-10</a> But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. / Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. <a href="/hosea/1-2.htm">Hosea 1:2</a> When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”</div> <a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div>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.let us make.<a href="/deuteronomy/29-12.htm">Deuteronomy 29:12</a> That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:<a href="/joshua/9-6.htm">Joshua 9:6</a> And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.<a href="/2_kings/11-17.htm">2 Kings 11:17</a> And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD'S people; between the king also and the people.put away.<a href="/2_chronicles/30-12.htm">2 Chronicles 30:12</a> Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD.of those that<a href="/ezra/9-4.htm">Ezra 9:4</a> Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.<a href="/2_chronicles/34-21.htm">2 Chronicles 34:21,27</a> Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book… <a href="/psalms/119-59.htm">Psalm 119:59,120</a> I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies… at the commandment<a href="/deuteronomy/7-2.htm">Deuteronomy 7:2,3</a> And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: … <a href="/joshua/23-12.htm">Joshua 23:12,13</a> Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: … let it<a href="/nehemiah/8-14.htm">Nehemiah 8:14</a> And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:<a href="/nehemiah/13-1.htm">Nehemiah 13:1-3</a> On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; … <a href="/isaiah/8-20.htm">Isaiah 8:20</a> To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.<div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/2_chronicles/6-9.htm">Born</a> <a href="/ezra/10-1.htm">Children</a> <a href="/ezra/8-17.htm">Commandment</a> <a href="/ezra/4-5.htm">Counsel</a> <a href="/2_chronicles/34-32.htm">Covenant</a> <a href="/ezra/7-26.htm">Law</a> <a href="/1_chronicles/16-30.htm">Tremble</a> <a href="/ezra/9-14.htm">Wives</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/job/1-2.htm">Born</a> <a href="/ezra/10-7.htm">Children</a> <a href="/nehemiah/11-23.htm">Commandment</a> <a href="/ezra/10-8.htm">Counsel</a> <a href="/nehemiah/1-5.htm">Covenant</a> <a href="/nehemiah/6-18.htm">Law</a> <a href="/esther/5-9.htm">Tremble</a> <a href="/ezra/10-10.htm">Wives</a><div class="vheading2">Ezra 10</div>1. <a href="/ezra/10-1.htm">Ezra encouraged to reform the strange marriages</a> 6. <a href="/ezra/10-6.htm">Ezra assembles the people</a> 9. <a href="/ezra/10-9.htm">The people repent, and promise amendment</a> 15. <a href="/ezra/10-15.htm">The care to perform it</a> 18. <a href="/ezra/10-18.htm">The names of them which had married strange wives</a> </div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/ezra/10.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/ezra/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/ezra/10.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div>So now let us make a covenant before our God This phrase emphasizes the seriousness of the situation and the need for a formal agreement or promise. In biblical times, covenants were solemn agreements often sealed with sacrifices or oaths. The idea of making a covenant "before our God" underscores the religious and moral obligation involved. Covenants in the Bible often signify a return to faithfulness, as seen in the covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses. This reflects a communal commitment to align with God's will, reminiscent of Joshua's covenant renewal at Shechem (<a href="/joshua/24-25.htm">Joshua 24:25</a>).to send away all the foreign wives and their children The issue of intermarriage with foreign women was a significant concern for the Israelites, as it often led to idolatry and a departure from the worship of Yahweh. This directive to send away foreign wives and children is rooted in the desire to maintain religious purity and obedience to God's commands. Historically, this reflects the post-exilic community's struggle to re-establish their identity and faithfulness to the Mosaic Law. The action is controversial and highlights the tension between cultural integration and religious exclusivity, similar to the warnings given in <a href="/deuteronomy/7-3.htm">Deuteronomy 7:3-4</a>.according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God This phrase indicates that the decision was not made unilaterally but was based on the advice of leaders and those who deeply revered God's commands. "My lord" likely refers to Ezra or another leader, while "those who tremble" suggests a group of devout individuals who fear God and respect His laws. This reflects a community-driven decision-making process, emphasizing the importance of spiritual leadership and collective accountability. The phrase echoes the reverence for God's word seen in <a href="/isaiah/66-2.htm">Isaiah 66:2</a>, where God esteems those who are humble and contrite in spirit.Let it be done according to the Law The reference to "the Law" underscores the authority of the Torah as the guiding principle for the Israelites' actions. This appeal to the Law highlights the community's desire to align their lives with the divine statutes given through Moses. It reflects the post-exilic emphasis on legal adherence as a means of restoring and preserving the covenant relationship with God. This phrase connects to the broader biblical theme of obedience to God's commandments as a path to blessing and favor, as seen in <a href="/deuteronomy/28.htm">Deuteronomy 28</a>.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <a href="/topical/e/ezra.htm">Ezra</a> A scribe and priest who led the second group of exiles back to Jerusalem. He was instrumental in the spiritual and religious reform of the Jewish people. 2. <a href="/topical/i/israelites.htm">Israelites</a> The people of Israel who had returned from exile in Babylon. They were struggling with issues of intermarriage with foreign women, which was against the Law of Moses. 3. <a href="/topical/f/foreign_wives_and_children.htm">Foreign Wives and Children</a> Non-Israelite women and their children, whom the Israelite men had married, leading to a dilution of religious and cultural identity. 4. <a href="/topical/c/covenant.htm">Covenant</a> A solemn agreement made before God, in this context, to separate from foreign influences that were contrary to the Law. 5. <a href="/topical/t/the_law.htm">The Law</a> Refers to the Mosaic Law, which included commands against intermarriage with foreign nations to prevent idolatry and maintain religious purity.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_obedience_to_god's_law.htm">The Importance of Obedience to God's Law</a> The Israelites' decision to make a covenant reflects the necessity of aligning one's life with God's commands, even when it requires difficult choices. <a href="/topical/t/the_role_of_leadership_in_spiritual_reform.htm">The Role of Leadership in Spiritual Reform</a> Ezra's leadership demonstrates the importance of godly leaders who guide their communities back to faithfulness and obedience. <a href="/topical/t/the_consequences_of_compromise.htm">The Consequences of Compromise</a> Intermarriage with foreign women led to spiritual compromise, illustrating the dangers of allowing cultural influences to overshadow religious convictions. <a href="/topical/t/the_power_of_community_in_upholding_god's_standards.htm">The Power of Community in Upholding God's Standards</a> The collective decision to adhere to the Law shows the strength found in community support for maintaining spiritual integrity. <a href="/topical/r/repentance_and_restoration.htm">Repentance and Restoration</a> The act of sending away foreign wives and children, though harsh, was a step towards repentance and restoring the community's relationship with God.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_ezra_10.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Ezra 10</a> <a href="/q/should_ezra_abandon_foreign_families.htm">Should Ezra have ordered abandoning foreign wives and children?</a> <a href="/q/who_was_shechaniah_in_the_bible.htm">Who was Shechaniah in the Bible?</a> <a href="/q/why_does_god_endorse_breaking_families.htm">Ezra 10:3 – Why does God seemingly endorse the breaking up of families by demanding the men send away their foreign wives and children? </a> <a href="/q/why_separate_if_some_converted.htm">Ezra 10:44 - How can a just God require separating from wives and children if some may have converted to the faith?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/ezra/10.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div>Verse 3. - Now therefore let us make a covenant. Shechaniah had probably in his thoughts the (comparatively) recent covenant which the people had made in the reign of Zedekiah (<a href="/jeremiah/34-15.htm">Jeremiah 34:15</a>) on the subject of releasing their Hebrew slaves after six years of servitude. That covenant was entered into before God, in the temple, by the princes and all the people (ibid. ver. 10). To put away all the wives. Shechaniah probably held that marriages made contrary to the law were not merely wrongful, but invalid. At any rate, since the law of Moses, as interpreted by the Rabbis, allowed divorce "for every cause" (<a href="/matthew/19-3.htm">Matthew 19:3</a>), the remedy suggested was feasible, though scarcely one which the civil power could enforce. And such as are born of them. "Filii matrem sequuntur" was a maxim of Roman, and, apparently, also of Jewish law. Young children require especially a mother's care. Older ones might be already tainted with idolatry. It was best, Shechaniah thought, to make a clean sweep, and dismiss the children as well as the mothers. According to the counsel of my lord. Ezra had not yet advised any course; but Shechaniah gathers from the horror which he has expressed what his wishes must be. Let it be done according to the law. Either, "Let the law, which forbids these marriages, be in this way satisfied" (Dathe); or, "Let the repudiation of the wives take place in the mode prescribed by the law" (see <a href="/deuteronomy/24-1.htm">Deuteronomy 24:1</a>). <a href="/commentaries/ezra/10-3.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a> <a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div>So now וְעַתָּ֣ה (wə·‘at·tāh) Conjunctive waw | Adverb <a href="/hebrew/strongs_6258.htm">Strong's 6258: </a> At this time let us make נִֽכְרָת־ (niḵ·rāṯ-) Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3772.htm">Strong's 3772: </a> To cut, to destroy, consume, to covenant a covenant בְּרִ֣ית (bə·rîṯ) Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_1285.htm">Strong's 1285: </a> A covenant before our God לֵ֠אלֹהֵינוּ (lê·lō·hê·nū) Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_430.htm">Strong's 430: </a> gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative to send away לְהוֹצִ֨יא (lə·hō·w·ṣî) Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3318.htm">Strong's 3318: </a> To go, bring, out, direct and proxim all כָל־ (ḵāl) Noun - masculine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3605.htm">Strong's 3605: </a> The whole, all, any, every the foreign wives נָשִׁ֜ים (nā·šîm) Noun - feminine plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_802.htm">Strong's 802: </a> Woman, wife, female and their children, וְהַנּוֹלָ֤ד (wə·han·nō·w·lāḏ) Conjunctive waw, Article | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3205.htm">Strong's 3205: </a> To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage according to the counsel בַּעֲצַ֣ת (ba·‘ă·ṣaṯ) Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_6098.htm">Strong's 6098: </a> Advice, plan, prudence of my lord אֲדֹנָ֔י (’ă·ḏō·nāy) Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_113.htm">Strong's 113: </a> Sovereign, controller and of those who tremble וְהַחֲרֵדִ֖ים (wə·ha·ḥă·rê·ḏîm) Conjunctive waw, Article | Adjective - masculine plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2730.htm">Strong's 2730: </a> Fearful, reverential at the command בְּמִצְוַ֣ת (bə·miṣ·waṯ) Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_4687.htm">Strong's 4687: </a> Commandment of our God. אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ (’ĕ·lō·hê·nū) Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_430.htm">Strong's 430: </a> gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative Let it be done יֵעָשֶֽׂה׃ (yê·‘ā·śeh) Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_6213.htm">Strong's 6213: </a> To do, make according to the Law. וְכַתּוֹרָ֖ה (wə·ḵat·tō·w·rāh) Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article | Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_8451.htm">Strong's 8451: </a> Direction, instruction, law <div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 NIV</a> <a href="/nlt/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 NLT</a> <a href="/esv/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 ESV</a> <a href="/nasb/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 NASB</a> <a href="/kjv/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 KJV</a> <a href="//bibleapps.com/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 BibleApps.com</a> <a href="//bibliaparalela.com/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 Biblia Paralela</a> <a href="//holybible.com.cn/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 Chinese Bible</a> <a href="//saintebible.com/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 French Bible</a> <a href="/catholic/ezra/10-3.htm">Ezra 10:3 Catholic Bible</a> <a href="/ezra/10-3.htm">OT History: Ezra 10:3 Now therefore let us make a covenant (Ezr. Ez) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/ezra/10-2.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Ezra 10:2"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Ezra 10:2" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/ezra/10-4.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ezra 10:4"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ezra 10:4" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>