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. read more
Now therefore make confession to the Lord God of your fathers ,.... Of their sin, and express their detestation of it, and repentance for it: and do his pleasure ; obey his will, and particularly in this case: and separate yourselves from the people of the land ; the Canaanites, &c.; have no fellowship with them, make no covenants, contracts, and alliances with them for the future: and from the strange wives ; they had taken; put them away. read more
Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice ,.... That they might be heard, and to show that they were willing and ready to comply with what was proposed: as thou host said, so must we do ; being convinced of their sin, they saw it was a duty incumbent on them to put away their strange wives, and that there was a necessity of it, to avert the wrath of God from them. read more
But the people are many ,.... Who have been guilty of this evil: and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without : in the street, because of the rain: neither is this a work of one day or two ; to inquire into this affair, who they are that have taken strange wives, and to persuade or oblige them to put them away: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing ; in marrying strange wives. read more
Let now our rulers of all the congregations stand ,.... Let the great sanhedrim, or court of judicature at Jerusalem, be fixed and continued, and others: and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times ; to the court at Jerusalem, at certain and fixed known times of their sittings there for this purpose: and with the elders of every city and the judges thereof ; the principal magistrates of it, who were to testify that upon search and inquiry... read more
Make confession - Acknowledge your sins before God, with deep compunction of heart, and the fullest resolution to forsake them. read more
As thou hast said , so must we do - They all resolved to do what Ezra then commanded, they did put away their wives, even those by whom they had children; Ezra 10:44 ; : this was a great hardship on the women and children. Though by the Jewish laws such marriages were null and void, yet as the women they had taken did not know these laws, their case was deplorable. However, we may take it for granted that each of them received a portion according to the circumstances of their... read more
A national call. We have traced before the probable influence of Ezra's piety and instructions; how they seem to have aroused the national conscience, and so to have brought to light the secret national sin; and how they afterwards brought together so many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, first to grieve for it, and then to renounce it, and resolve to suppress it. But these men, however influential, were only a fractional part of the nation. If their resolves were to be carried out... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezra 10:6-14
We have here an account of the proceedings upon the resolutions lately taken up concerning the strange wives; no time was lost; they struck when the iron was hot, and soon set the wheels of reformation a-going. 1. Ezra went to the council-chamber where, it is probable, the priests used to meet upon public business; and till he came thither (so bishop Patrick thinks it should be read), till he saw something done, and more likely to be done, for the redress of this grievance, he did neither eat... read more