The Meaning of Ezra 10:3 Explained

Ezra 10:3

KJV: 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.

YLT: 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;

Darby: And now 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 commandments of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Ezra 10:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Ezra 10:1-19 - Putting Away Strange Marriages
The people seem to have been more impressed by Ezra's intense grief of soul than they could have been by his severest condemnation. Is not this the secret of winning men from their evil ways? But we must not expend all our force in tears; we must act when we have opportunity. Shechaniah was not implicated, but his father and other near relatives were, Ezra 10:26. His words may be appropriated by us all, Ezra 10:2. There is always hope for the man who repents and puts away evil. It is a great encouragement when brave men will stand by the reformer, but whether they do or not, there is One who neither leaves nor forsakes, Hebrews 13:5-6. A drastic remedy was required; it seemed very hard and must have occasioned many heartbreaks. Probably if a wife had truly turned to the God of Israel, she would have been retained. God demands the sacrifice of anything which comes between us and Him, however dear, Mark 9:43; Matthew 10:37. There is no warrant for such action in our days. The process of the Gospel is given in 1 Corinthians 7:12-13. A solemn assembly was convened in the month of December, the coldest and rainiest time of the year. A court of inquiry was finally appointed, who continued their labors for about a quarter of a year. The offense seems to have been temporarily eradicated, though we meet with it again, Nehemiah 13:23; Malachi 2:11. Each generation repeats the sins of its predecessors, unwarned by their bitter experiences. Not the study of history, but the Spirit of God is needed to deal with and subdue individual and national sins [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezra 10

1  Ezra encouraged to reform the strange marriages
6  Ezra assembles the people
9  The people repent, and promise amendment
15  The care to perform it
18  The names of them which had married strange wives

What do the individual words in Ezra 10:3 mean?

And 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 lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God and according to the law let it be done
וְעַתָּ֣ה נִֽכְרָת־ בְּרִ֣ית לֵ֠אלֹהֵינוּ לְהוֹצִ֨יא כָל־ נָשִׁ֜ים וְהַנּוֹלָ֤ד מֵהֶם֙ בַּעֲצַ֣ת אֲדֹנָ֔י וְהַחֲרֵדִ֖ים בְּמִצְוַ֣ת אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְכַתּוֹרָ֖ה יֵעָשֶֽׂה

וְעַתָּ֣ה  And  therefore 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
נִֽכְרָת־  let  us  make 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common plural
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
בְּרִ֣ית  a  covenant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּרִית  
Sense: covenant, alliance, pledge.
לֵ֠אלֹהֵינוּ  with  our  God 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
לְהוֹצִ֨יא  to  put  away 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
נָשִׁ֜ים  these  wives 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
וְהַנּוֹלָ֤ד  and  those  who  have  been  born 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָלַד 
Sense: to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.
מֵהֶם֙  to  them 
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
בַּעֲצַ֣ת  according  to  the  advice  of 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֵצָה 
Sense: counsel, advice, purpose.
אֲדֹנָ֔י  my  lord 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדֹון  
Sense: firm, strong, lord, master.
וְהַחֲרֵדִ֖ים  and  of  those  who  tremble 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: חָרֵד  
Sense: trembling, fearful, afraid.
בְּמִצְוַ֣ת  at  the  commandment 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מִצְוָה  
Sense: commandment.
אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ  of  our  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
וְכַתּוֹרָ֖ה  and  according  to  the  law 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֹּורָה  
Sense: law, direction, instruction.
יֵעָשֶֽׂה  let  it  be  done 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.