Ezra 9:3

THE MESSAGE

When I heard all this, I ripped my clothes and my cape; I pulled hair from my head and out of my beard; I slumped to the ground, appalled.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and robe, pulled out some of the hair from my head and beard, and sat down devastated.

Hebrew Names Version
When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.

New Century Version
When I heard this, I angrily tore my robe and coat, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down in shock.

New English Translation
When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated.

Amplified Bible
When I heard this, I tore my clothing and my robe [in grief], I pulled out some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled [at the shame of it].

New American Standard Bible
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.

World English Bible
When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But when I heard this saying, I rent my clothes and my garment, and pluckt off the heare of mine head, and of my beard, and sate downe astonied.

Legacy Standard Bible
When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down in consternation.

Berean Standard Bible
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.

Contemporary English Version
This news made me so angry that I ripped my clothes and tore hair from my head and beard. Then I just sat in shock

Complete Jewish Bible
When I heard this, I tore my robe and tunic, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down in shock.

Darby Translation
And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down overwhelmed.

Easy-to-Read Version
When I heard about this, I tore my robe and my coat to show I was upset. I pulled hair from my head and beard. I sat down, shocked and upset.

George Lamsa Translation
And when I heard this thing, I tore my garments and my mantle and pulled the hair of my head and of my beard and sat down speechless.

Good News Translation
When I heard this, I tore my clothes in despair, tore my hair and my beard, and sat down crushed with grief.

Lexham English Bible
When I heard this I tore my garment and my robe, and I pulled the hair out from my head and beard, and I sat appalled.

Literal Translation
And when I heard this thing, I tore my garments and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down stunned.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whan I herde this, I rente my clothes and my rayment, and plucte out the heer of my heade and of my beerd, and sat mournynge.

American Standard Version
And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.

Bible in Basic English
And hearing this, with signs of grief and pulling out the hair of my head and my chin, I took my seat on the earth deeply troubled.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when I heard this saying, I rent my clothes and my garment, & pluckt of the heere of my head & of my beard, and sate mourning.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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 appalled.

King James Version (1611)
And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and pluckt off the haire of my head, and of my beard, and sate downe astonied.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And when I heard this thing, I rent my garments, and trembled, and plucked some of the hairs of my head and of my beard, and sat down mourning.

English Revised Version
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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne Y hadde herd this word, Y torente my mentil and coote, and Y pullide awei the heeris of myn heed and berd, and Y sat morenynge.

Update Bible Version
And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.

Webster's Bible Translation
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 confounded.

New King James Version
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.

New Living Translation
When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked.

New Life Bible
When I heard this, I tore my clothing and my coat, and pulled hair from my head and face, and sat down filled with much trouble and fear.

New Revised Standard
When I heard this, I tore my garment and my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat appalled.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
When I heard this thing, I rent my garment, and my robe, - and tore out of the hair of my head and my beard, and sat stunned.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when I had heard this word, I rent my mantle and my coat, and plucked off the hairs of my head and my beard, and I sat down mourning.

Revised Standard Version
When I heard this, I rent my garments and my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat appalled.

Young's Literal Translation
And at my hearing this word, I have rent my garment and my upper robe, and pluck out of the hair of my head, and of my beard, and sit astonished,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled.

Contextual Overview

¹After all this was done, the leaders came to me and said, "The People of Israel, priests and Levites included, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring people around here with all their vulgar obscenities—Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, Amorites. They have given some of their daughters in marriage to them and have taken some of their daughters for marriage to their sons. The holy seed is now all mixed in with these other peoples. And our leaders have led the way in this betrayal." ³ When I heard all this, I ripped my clothes and my cape; I pulled hair from my head and out of my beard; I slumped to the ground, appalled. ⁴Many were in fear and trembling because of what God was saying about the betrayal by the exiles. They gathered around me as I sat there in despair, waiting for the evening sacrifice. At the evening sacrifice I picked myself up from my utter devastation, and in my ripped clothes and cape fell to my knees and stretched out my hands to God , my God. And I prayed: "My dear God, I'm so totally ashamed, I can't bear to face you. O my God—our iniquities are piled up so high that we can't see out; our guilt touches the skies. We've been stuck in a muck of guilt since the time of our ancestors until right now; we and our kings and priests, because of our sins, have been turned over to foreign kings, to killing, to captivity, to looting, and to public shame—just as you see us now. "Now for a brief time God , our God, has allowed us, this battered band, to get a firm foothold in his holy place so that our God may brighten our eyes and lighten our burdens as we serve out this hard sentence. We were slaves; yet even as slaves, our God didn't abandon us. He has put us in the good graces of the kings of Persia and given us the heart to build The Temple of our God, restore its ruins, and construct a defensive wall in Judah and Jerusalem. "And now, our God, after all this what can we say for ourselves? For we have thrown your commands to the wind, the commands you gave us through your servants the prophets. They told us, ‘The land you're taking over is a polluted land, polluted with the obscene vulgarities of the people who live there; they've filled it with their moral rot from one end to the other. Whatever you do, don't give your daughters in marriage to their sons nor marry your sons to their daughters. Don't cultivate their good opinion; don't make over them and get them to like you so you can make a lot of money and build up a tidy estate to hand down to your children.' "And now this, on top of all we've already suffered because of our evil ways and accumulated guilt, even though you, dear God, punished us far less than we deserved and even went ahead and gave us this present escape. Yet here we are, at it again, breaking your commandments by intermarrying with the people who practice all these obscenities! Are you angry to the point of wiping us out completely, without even a few stragglers, with no way out at all? You are the righteous God of Israel. We are, right now, a small band of escapees. Look at us, openly standing here, guilty before you. No one can last long like this."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

rent: Joshua 7:6, 2 Kings 18:37, 2 Kings 19:1, Job 1:20, Jeremiah 36:24

off: Leviticus 21:5, Nehemiah 13:25, Isaiah 15:2, Jeremiah 7:29, Jeremiah 48:37, Jeremiah 48:38, Ezekiel 7:18, Micah 1:16

sat: Nehemiah 1:4, Job 2:12, Job 2:13, Psalms 66:3, Psalms 143:4, Ezekiel 3:15, Daniel 4:19, Daniel 8:27

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:34 - General Exodus 33:4 - and no 1 Samuel 8:6 - prayed 2 Kings 22:19 - wept Nehemiah 13:8 - it grieved Psalms 119:53 - horror Isaiah 22:12 - to baldness Isaiah 36:22 - with their Joel 2:1 - let Acts 14:14 - they 2 Corinthians 12:21 - that I

Cross-References

Genesis 9:1
God blessed Noah and his sons: He said, "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Earth! Every living creature—birds, animals, fish—will fall under your spell and be afraid of you. You're responsible for them. All living creatures are yours for food; just as I gave you the plants, now I give you everything else. Except for meat with its lifeblood still in it—don't eat that.

Genesis 9:5
"But your own lifeblood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans.

Genesis 9:12
God continued, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth."

Deuteronomy 12:15
It's permissible to slaughter your nonsacrificial animals like gazelle and deer in your towns and eat all you want from them with the blessing of God , your God. Both the ritually clean and unclean may eat.

Romans 14:17
God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.

1 Corinthians 10:23
Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.

1 Corinthians 10:31
So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.

Colossians 2:16
So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle,.... Both inward and outward garments, that which was close to his body, and that which was thrown loose over it; and this he did in token of sorrow and mourning, as if something very dreadful and distressing, see Job 1:20

and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard; did not shave them, and so transgressed not the law in Leviticus 19:27 but plucked off the hair of them, to show his extreme sorrow for what was told him: which has frequently been done by mourners on sorrowful occasions in various nations, see Isaiah 15:2. So in the apocryphal "addition" to Esther,

"And laid away her glorious apparel, and put on the garments of anguish and mourning: and instead of precious ointments, she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she humbled her body greatly, and all the places of her joy she filled with her torn hair.'' (Esther 14:2)

she is said to fill every place of joy with the tearing of her hair; and Lavinia in Virgil k; several passages from Homer l, and other writers, both Greek and Latin, are mentioned by Bochart m as instances of it:

and sat down astonished; quite amazed at the ingratitude of the people, that after such favours shown them, in returning them from captivity unto their own land, and settling them there, they should give into practices so contrary to the will of God.

k Aeneid. 12. prope finem. Vid. Ciceron. Tusc. Quaest. l. 3. l Vid. Iliad. 10. ver. 15. & Iliad. 22. ver. 77, 78, 406. & Iliad. 24. ver. 711. m Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 45. col. 481.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Plucking out the hair with the hands, so common among the Classical nations, is, comparatively speaking, rarely mentioned as practiced by Asiatics.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezra 9:3. I rent my garment and my mantle — The outer and inner garment, in sign of great grief. This significant act is frequently mentioned in the sacred writings, and was common among all ancient nations.

Plucked off the hair — Shaving the head and beard were signs of excessive grief; much more so the plucking off the hair, which must produce exquisite pain. All this testified his abhorrence, not merely of the act of having taken strange wives, but their having also joined them in their idolatrous abominations.