Then Ezra stood and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel take an oath that they would do according to this proposal; so they took the oath.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore.
- KJV Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.
- BSB So Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said. And they took the oath.
- NKJV Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath.
- NLT So Ezra stood up and demanded that the leaders of the priests and the Levites and all the people of Israel swear that they would do as Shecaniah had said. And they all swore a solemn oath.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ezra rose and put the leaders and all Israel under oath to carry out the proposal. He bound the community by solemn vow to follow through on their repentance.
Overview
Ezra translated the people's words into a binding commitment, having priests, Levites, and all Israel swear to act. The oath ensured that repentance would not fade into mere emotion but issue in obedience. This insistence that confession be matched by committed action reflects the biblical truth that genuine faith and repentance bear fruit in changed conduct (James 2:17).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Neh 13:25I contended with them, and cursed them, and struck certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves.
- Neh 5:12Then they said, “We will restore them, and will require nothing of them. We will do so, even as you say.” Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they would do according to this promise.
- Prov 15:23Joy comes to a man with the reply of his mouth. How good is a word at the right time!
- Prov 27:9Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
- Prov 25:11–12A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
- Prov 1:5that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel:
- Prov 9:9Instruct a wise man, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
- Ezra 10:3Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and those who as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God. Let it be done according to the law.
- Matt 26:63But Jesus held his peace. The high priest answered him, “I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
- Neh 10:29they joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The return from exile and the rebuilt altar keep alive the hope of a greater restoration — the true return from our deeper exile of sin accomplished by Christ.
How Ezra 10:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.