Ezra 10:6

Foreign Wives and Children are Sent Away

6 Ezra rose from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He did not eat food nor drink water because he was mourning over the sin of the exiles.

Ezra 10:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 10:6

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God
Departed from thence:

and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib;
who was of the family of the high priest. Eliashib was grandson of Joshua the high priest, and succeeded his father Joiakim as such; but though Johanan was never high priest, being a younger son, however he was a person of note, and had a chamber in the temple, whither Ezra went, either to advise with the princes and elders in it, ( Ezra 10:8 ) or to refresh himself with food:

and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water;
or rather "not yet had he ate bread" ^F15, as some render it; that is, not till he came thither, from the time he first heard of the evil the people had committed; which very probably was early in the morning, and it was now evening:

for he mourned for the transgression of them that had been carried
away;
into captivity, but were now returned from it, and it grieved him the more, that, after such kindness shown them, they should be guilty of such an evil.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F15 (lka al) "nondum comederat", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Ezra 10:6 In-Context

4 Arise, for it is your task and we are with you. Be strong and do it."

5 Then Ezra stood up and made the chief priests, Levites, and all of Israel swear to do according to what was said. So they swore this oath.

6 Ezra rose from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He did not eat food nor drink water because he was mourning over the sin of the exiles.

7 And they sent a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to all the {returned exiles} to assemble in Jerusalem.

8 Anyone who did not come within three days, by decision of the officials and elders, all of his possessions would be devoted to God, and he himself would be excluded from the assembly of exiles.