^10:1While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites—men, women, and children alike—gathered around him. The people wept loudly.¹^10:2Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam,² addressed Ezra:

“We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying³ foreign women from the local peoples.⁴ Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard.⁵^10:3Therefore let us enact⁶ a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord,⁷ and that of those who respect⁸ the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law. ^10:4Get up, for this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and act decisively!”

^10:5So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan.⁹ And they all took a solemn oath. ^10:6Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed¹⁰ there, he did not eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles.

^10:7A proclamation¹¹ was circulated¹² throughout Judah and Jerusalem¹³ that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem. ^10:8Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property, in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders. Furthermore, he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

Read in Logos

Ezra 10:4: Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it…

Footnotes

1 Heb “with much weeping.”
2 The translation reads with the Qere, many medieval Hebrew , the , the , and עֵילָם (’elam, “Elam”) rather than the reading עוֹלָם (’olam, “eternity”) found in the .
3 Heb “in that we have given a dwelling to.” So also in vv. 14, 17, 18.
4 Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
5 Heb “upon this.”
6 Heb “cut.”
7 The vocalizes this word as a plural, which could be understood as a reference to God. But the context seems to suggest that a human lord is intended. The apparatus of suggests repointing the word as a singular (“my lord”), but this is unnecessary. The plural (“my lords”) can be understood in an honorific sense even when a human being is in view. Most English versions regard this as a reference to Ezra, so the present translation supplies “your” before “counsel” to make this clear.
8 Heb “who tremble at”; , “who fear.”
9 Heb “to do according to this plan.”
10 The translation reads וַיָּלֶן (vayyalen, “and he stayed”) rather than the reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “and he went”) of the . Cf. the .
11 Heb “voice.”
12 Heb “they sent.”
13 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .