When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.
Parallel translations
- WEB When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.
- KJV And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.
- NKJV So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.
- NASB When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled out some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled.
- NLT When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked.
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
Hearing the report, Ezra tore his clothes, pulled out his hair, and sat appalled. His extreme grief revealed how seriously he regarded the sin.
Overview
Ezra's dramatic mourning expressed deep horror at the people's covenant unfaithfulness, not mere personal disappointment. Tearing garments and plucking hair were recognized signs of profound grief and distress in his culture. His godly sorrow over sin models the broken and contrite heart that God receives, the same repentance the gospel calls for (Psalm 51:17).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Neh 1:4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
- Josh 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
- Isa 15:2Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
- Mic 1:16Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.
- Dan 4:19For a time, Daniel, who was also known as Belteshazzar, was perplexed, and his thoughts alarmed him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.” “My lord,” replied Belteshazzar, “may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!
- Jer 48:37–38For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
- Jer 7:29Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’
- Neh 13:25I 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!
- Dan 8:27I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was confounded by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
- Lev 21:5Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
- 2 Kgs 18:37Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
- Ezek 7:18They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.
- Job 1:20Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,
- Job 2:12–13When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.
- Jer 36:24Yet in hearing all these words, the king and his servants did not become frightened or tear their garments.
- Ezek 3:15I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.
- Ps 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You.
- Ps 143:4My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me.
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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 9:3 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
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