New International VersionNow honor the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.”
New Living TranslationSo now confess your sin to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do what he demands. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from these pagan women.”
English Standard VersionNow then make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
Berean Standard BibleNow, therefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”
King James BibleNow therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.
New King James VersionNow therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.”
New American Standard BibleNow therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
NASB 1995“Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
NASB 1977“Now, therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
Legacy Standard BibleSo now, make confession to Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
Amplified BibleSo now, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from [your] foreign wives.”
Christian Standard BibleTherefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and your foreign wives.”
Holman Christian Standard BibleTherefore, make a confession to Yahweh the God of your fathers and do His will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and your foreign wives.”
American Standard VersionNow therefore make confession unto Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.
Contemporary English VersionNow you must confess your sins to the LORD God of your ancestors and obey him. Divorce your foreign wives and don't have anything to do with the rest of the foreigners who live around here.
English Revised VersionNow therefore make confession unto the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the strange women.
GOD'S WORD® TranslationConfess to the LORD God of your ancestors what you have done, and do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of this land and from your foreign wives."
Good News TranslationNow then, confess your sins to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do what pleases him. Separate yourselves from the foreigners living in our land and get rid of your foreign wives."
International Standard VersionNow confess this to the LORD God of your ancestors, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from foreign wives."
NET BibleNow give praise to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents and from these foreign wives."
New Heart English BibleNow therefore make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women."
Webster's Bible TranslationNow therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the foreign wives. Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleNow, therefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”
World English BibleNow therefore make confession to Yahweh, the God of your fathers and do his pleasure. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women.” Literal Translations Literal Standard Versionand now, make confession to YHWH, God of your fathers, and do His good pleasure, and be separated from the peoples of the land, and from the strange women.”
Young's Literal Translation and, now, make confession to Jehovah, God of your fathers, and do His good pleasure, and be separated from the peoples of the land, and from the strange women.'
Smith's Literal TranslationAnd now ye shall give praise to Jehovah the God of your fathers, and do acceptance: and separate from the people of the land and from the strange wives. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleAnd now make confession to the Lord the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure, and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from your strange wives.
Catholic Public Domain VersionAnd now, make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do what pleases him, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from your foreign wives.”
New American BibleBut now, give praise to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do his will: separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women.”
New Revised Standard VersionNow make confession to the LORD the God of your ancestors, and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleNow therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the alien wives.
Peshitta Holy Bible TranslatedTherefore make confession to LORD JEHOVAH God of your fathers, and do his pleasure and be separated from the Gentiles of the land and from foreign women!” OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Now therefore make confession unto the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.'
Brenton Septuagint TranslationNow therefore give praise to the Lord God of our fathers, and do that which is pleasing in his sight: and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the strange wives.
Additional Translations ... Audio Bible
Context The People's Confession of Sin… 10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel. 11Now, therefore,makea confessionto the LORD,the Godof your fathers,and doHis will.Separateyourselvesfrom the peopleof the landand from your foreignwives.”12And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say!…
Cross References Deuteronomy 7:3-4Do 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.
Nehemiah 13:23-27In 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! ...
2 Corinthians 6:14-17Do 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.” ...
Exodus 34:15-16Do 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.
1 Kings 11:1-2King 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.
Malachi 2:11Judah 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.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13I 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. ...
Joshua 23:12-13For 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.
2 Corinthians 7:1Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
1 Corinthians 7:12-14To 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.
Judges 3:5-6Thus 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.
1 Peter 1:14-16As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance. / But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, / for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Leviticus 20:26You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
Romans 12:1-2Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. / Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; / each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, / not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God; ...
Treasury of Scripture Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. make confession Leviticus 26:40-42 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; … Joshua 7:19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hideit not from me. Psalm 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. do his Isaiah 1:16-18 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; … Isaiah 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choosethe things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove whatis that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. separate Ezra 9:1 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands,doing according to their abominations,even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. Nehemiah 13:3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. 2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the uncleanthing; and I will receive you, and from the Deuteronomy 7:3,4 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son… 1 Corinthians 2:12-14 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God… Jump to Previous ConfessionFathersForeignGoodPeoplesPleasurePraiseSeparateSeparatedStrangeWivesWomenYourselvesJump to Next ConfessionFathersForeignGoodPeoplesPleasurePraiseSeparateSeparatedStrangeWivesWomenYourselvesEzra 10 1.Ezra encouraged to reform the strange marriages6.Ezra assembles the people9.The people repent, and promise amendment15.The care to perform it18.The names of them which had married strange wivesNow, therefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your fathersThis phrase emphasizes the importance of confession in the process of repentance. Confession is a key theme throughout the Bible, seen in passages like 1 John 1:9, where believers are encouraged to confess their sins to receive forgiveness. The reference to "the God of your fathers" connects the Israelites to their ancestral covenant with God, reminding them of their heritage and the faithfulness of God to their forefathers, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This connection underscores the continuity of God's promises and the need for the Israelites to return to the covenantal relationship. and do His will
Doing God's will is a central tenet of biblical teaching, reflecting obedience and submission to God's commands. This phrase calls the Israelites to align their actions with God's desires, as seen inDeuteronomy 10:12-13, where God outlines what He requires of His people. The call to action here is not just about avoiding sin but actively pursuing righteousness and living according to God's statutes. This aligns with the New Testament teaching inJames 1:22, which urges believers to be doers of the word, not merely hearers. Separate yourselves from the people of the land
The command to separate from the people of the land highlights the need for holiness and purity among God's people. In the historical context, the Israelites were surrounded by pagan nations whose practices and beliefs were contrary to God's laws. This separation is not about ethnic superiority but about maintaining spiritual integrity and avoiding idolatry, as seen inDeuteronomy 7:3-4. The call for separation is echoed in the New Testament, where believers are urged to be in the world but not of it (John 17:14-16). and from your foreign wives.
This directive addresses the specific issue of intermarriage with foreign women, which was leading the Israelites away from their covenant with God. Marriages to foreign wives often resulted in the introduction of idolatry and pagan practices, as seen in the story of Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-4). The command to separate from foreign wives is a call to return to covenant faithfulness and prevent the dilution of religious and cultural identity. This theme of spiritual fidelity is mirrored in the New Testament, where believers are cautioned against being unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). Persons / Places / Events 1. EzraA scribe and priest who led the second group of exiles back to Jerusalem. He was instrumental in restoring the law and religious practices among the Israelites. 2. The IsraelitesThe people of God who had returned from Babylonian exile and were struggling to maintain their distinct identity and covenant relationship with God. 3. Foreign WivesNon-Israelite women whom the Israelite men had married, leading to religious and cultural compromises. 4. JerusalemThe central place of worship and the city where the temple was being rebuilt, symbolizing the restoration of the Jewish faith and community. 5. Confession and SeparationThe act of acknowledging sin before God and taking steps to rectify it, which in this context involved separating from foreign influences that led to idolatry. Teaching Points Confession and RepentanceAcknowledge and confess sins before God as a necessary step towards spiritual restoration and obedience. Obedience to God's WillAlign actions with God's commands, even when it requires difficult decisions or sacrifices. Separation from Sinful InfluencesIdentify and separate from influences that lead away from God, maintaining spiritual integrity and faithfulness. Community AccountabilityEngage in communal efforts to uphold God's standards, supporting one another in faithfulness and obedience. Restoration and RenewalEmbrace God's call to restore and renew one's life and community in accordance with His word. Lists and Questions Top 10 Lessons from Ezra 10
How do claims in Ezekiel 36 about Israel's future prosperity reconcile with other biblical passages that predict ongoing hardship for the same people?
In Jeremiah 29:4-7, how can God instruct his people to settle peacefully in a pagan land while other passages command separation from foreign nations?
Ezra 10:3 - Why does God seemingly endorse the breaking up of families by demanding the men send away their foreign wives and children?
Should Ezra have ordered abandoning foreign wives and children?Verse 11. - Make confession. This is undoubtedly the true meaning of t'nu thodah in this place, and not " give praise" ( δότεαἴνεσιν), as the LXX. render. Separate yourselves from the people of the land. The marriages naturally led on to familiar intercourse with the relatives and friends of the women, and so tended to break down the barrier between Jew and Gentile which it had been the special object of the Mosaic legislation to erect.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew Now, therefore,וְעַתָּ֗ה(wə·‘at·tāh)Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 6258:At this timemakeתְּנ֥וּ(tə·nū)Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 5414:To give, put, seta confessionתוֹדָ֛ה(ṯō·w·ḏāh)Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8426:An extension of the hand, avowal, adoration, a choir of worshippersto the LORD,לַיהוָ֥ה(Yah·weh)Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israelthe Godאֱלֹהֵֽי־(’ĕ·lō·hê-)Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 430:gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlativeof your fathers,אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֖ם(’ă·ḇō·ṯê·ḵem)Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 1:Fatherand doוַעֲשׂ֣וּ(wa·‘ă·śū)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 6213:To do, makeHis will.רְצוֹנ֑וֹ(rə·ṣō·w·nōw)Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7522:Goodwill, favor, acceptance, willSeparateוְהִבָּֽדְלוּ֙(wə·hib·bā·ḏə·lū)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 914:To be divided, separateyourselvesוּמִן־(ū·min-)Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 4480:A part of, from, out offrom the peopleמֵעַמֵּ֣י(mê·‘am·mê)Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5971:A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flockof the landהָאָ֔רֶץ(hā·’ā·reṣ)Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776:Earth, landand from your foreignהַנָּכְרִיּֽוֹת׃(han·nā·ḵə·rî·yō·wṯ)Article | Adjective - feminine plural
Strong's 5237:Foreign, alienwives.”הַנָּשִׁ֖ים(han·nā·šîm)Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 802:Woman, wife, female
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OT History: Ezra 10:11 Now therefore make confession to Yahweh (Ezr. Ez) |
