Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 10:10
And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.
10. Ezra the priest ] See note on Ezr 7:11.
Ye have transgressed ] R.V. Ye have trespassed, as in Ezr 10:2; Ezr 10:6, Ezr 9:4 and Neh 1:8; Neh 13:27. It is best to keep ‘transgress’ and ‘transgression’ for the Hebrew words ‘psha’ and ‘pesha’, which only once occur in this book (Ezr 10:13) but are very frequent elsewhere.
and have taken strange wives ] R.V. and have married strange women. See note on Ezr 10:2.
to increase the trespass of Israel ] R.V. to increase the guilt of Israel. The ‘guilt’ or ‘guiltiness of Israel’, see on Ezr 9:6; Ezr 9:15. The fresh offence had added to the black account against Israel.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10 11. Ezra’s address to the people: (1) the offence stated; (2) the reform commanded, consisting of ( a) public confession, ( b) practical amendment.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10-17. Ezra the priest stood up, andsaidHaving fully represented the enormity of their sin andurged them to dissolve their unlawful connections, he was gratifiedby receiving a prompt acknowledgment of the justice of his reproofand a promise of compliance with his recommendation. But as theweather was ungenial and the defaulters were too numerous to bepassed in review at one time, it was resolved that a commissionshould be appointed to examine into the whole matter. Thesecommissioners, assisted by the judges and elders of the respectivecities, made a minute investigation into every case, and after threemonths’ labor completely removed all traces of the abuse. Doubtless,an adequate provision was made for the repudiated wives and children,according to the means and circumstances of the husbands.
Ezr10:18-44. THOSE THATHAD TAKENSTRANGE WIVES.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Ezra the priest stood up,…. In the midst of the assembly to make his speech, acquainting them with the reason of their meeting together:
and said unto them, ye have transgressed; the law of God in the following instance:
and have taken strange wives; of the people of the land and others, idolatrous persons:
to increase the trespass of Israel; to add to former iniquities, which had been the cause of the captivity.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Ezra then stood up and reproved the assembled multitude, saying: You have brought home ( , comp. Ezr 10:2) strange wives to increase the trespass of Israel (comp. Ezra’s confession, Ezr 9:6-15), and exhorted them to give glory to God and to do His pleasure, (viz.) to separate themselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. On , comp. Jos 7:19. Separation from the people of the land consisted, under the circumstances, in the dismissal of the strange wives.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
No doubt the hand of the Lord was upon them, and with them, so that grace triumphed over nature, that all the people, as the heart of one man consented unto the thing. Oh! how delightful is it, when grace enters the heart, and the soul melts before God in consequence of it.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ezr 10:10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.
Ver. 10. We have transgressed ] We have disloyally, or rather sacrilegiously, trespassed, by transgressing the covenant. Other men’s sins are rebellious against God, but the saints’ sins are treacheries. Let the Philistines bind Samson, it wilt be nothing so grievous to him as that his brethren should do it. Men’s offences are much increased by their obligations.
To increase the trespass of Israel
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
trespass. Hebrew. ‘ashah. See note on Ezr 9:6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Ezr 10:10-14
Ezr 10:10-14
EZRA’S ADDRESS BEFORE THE PEOPLE
“And Ezra the priest stood up and said unto them, Ye have trespassed, and married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel. Now 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. Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said concerning us, so must we do. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without: neither is this a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. Let now our princes be appointed for all the assembly, and let all them that are in our cities that have married foreign women, come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, until this matter be despatched.”
“The crowd readily agreed to Ezra’s decision; but the implementation of it was far too complex and complicated a thing to be accomplished immediately while they were standing there shivering in the cold from the wintry rain.”
A commission was appointed, as the people suggested; and the people were called before it in small groups, accompanied by their fellow-citizens, thus giving time and opportunity to work out the problems one by one.
E.M. Zerr:
Ezr 10:10. Ezra the priest. The reader has doubtless noticed that Ezra has been generally referred to in the third person. That might raise the question whether he could be the author of this book. That would not affect the question in the least. Moses is almost always referred to in the first five books of the Bible in the third person, even in the place where he is said to have been meeker than all other men in the earth (Num 12:3), yet we know he was the author of that writing. An inspired author would be writing of himself in the same sense that he would use if writing about another. We can therefore be sure that Ezra was the author of the book that bears his name. When he was ready to speak to the greater group that had come in answer to the proclamation, he informed them of the evil of which they were guilty. In marrying strange (outside) wives, they had increased the trespass of Israel. That showed that their marriage irregularities were not the only evils they had done.
Ezr 10:11. Ezra demanded a confession of wrong from the people. But confession of sins only will not be sufficient. All wrongs that one commits must be corrected as far as possible, in order to obtain the forgiveness of God. Accordingly, Ezra called upon the guilty to separate themselves from the foreign people of the land.
Ezr 10:12. A positive and unanimous response was made to Ezra’s demand; all agreed to do as he had asked.
Ezr 10:13. The request for more time is often an indication of indifference, or a means of evading an unpleasant task. I am sure the opposite was the case with these people. The magnitude of the work necessary to be done, and its importance in the light of the law violated, justified the request for plenty of time. Another thing, the inclemency of the weather was mentioned. That was not just because of the unpleasantness of the situation, for they had shown already that such would not keep them from doing what they believed to be their duty. They had come from the far borders of the country and sat in the street while the rain was coming down upon them, showing something of their courage. But the activities connected with sorting out the foreign wives, making sure that no lawful ones were imposed upon, yet being careful to get all of the others— all this would require time and would be hindered by the weather.
Ezr 10:14. It showed wisdom to suggest some systematic method for handling the great work. And it is noteworthy that they did not expect the officers to “run down” the offenders to force them to comply with their duty. They proposed to have the chief officers of the congregation remain in the capital while the people came to them for the transaction. Since there were so many people concerned, it was suggested that appointed times be understood for the several cities. When each one’s time came he was to appear before these rulers, accompanied by the proper officials of his city, and then perform whatever ceremonies would be required by those having charge. By having the elders and judges present they would be sure of attending to the matter in a lawful manner; also would have witnesses for it. The motive for this revolutionary movement was to turn away the fierce wrath of God.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
taken: Heb. caused to dwell, or, brought back
to increase: Ezr 9:6, Num 32:14, Jos 22:17, Jos 22:18, 2Ch 28:13, Mat 23:32
Reciprocal: Jos 7:19 – make Ezr 9:1 – have not separated Neh 10:30 – General Neh 13:23 – married Jer 5:6 – because 2Ti 2:16 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
10:10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to {g} increase the trespass of Israel.
(g) You have laid one sin on another.