The Meaning of Ezra 10:18 Explained

Ezra 10:18

KJV: And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

YLT: And there are found of the sons of the priests that have settled strange women: of the sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah;

Darby: And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken foreign wives, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren: Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

ASV: And among the sons of the priests there were found that had married foreign women: namely , of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And among the sons  of the priests  there were found  that had taken  strange  wives:  [namely], of the sons  of Jeshua  the son  of Jozadak,  and his brethren;  Maaseiah,  and Eliezer,  and Jarib,  and Gedaliah. 

What does Ezra 10:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Ezra 10:1-19 - Putting Away Strange Marriages
The people seem to have been more impressed by Ezra's intense grief of soul than they could have been by his severest condemnation. Is not this the secret of winning men from their evil ways? But we must not expend all our force in tears; we must act when we have opportunity. Shechaniah was not implicated, but his father and other near relatives were, Ezra 10:26. His words may be appropriated by us all, Ezra 10:2. There is always hope for the man who repents and puts away evil. It is a great encouragement when brave men will stand by the reformer, but whether they do or not, there is One who neither leaves nor forsakes, Hebrews 13:5-6. A drastic remedy was required; it seemed very hard and must have occasioned many heartbreaks. Probably if a wife had truly turned to the God of Israel, she would have been retained. God demands the sacrifice of anything which comes between us and Him, however dear, Mark 9:43; Matthew 10:37. There is no warrant for such action in our days. The process of the Gospel is given in 1 Corinthians 7:12-13. A solemn assembly was convened in the month of December, the coldest and rainiest time of the year. A court of inquiry was finally appointed, who continued their labors for about a quarter of a year. The offense seems to have been temporarily eradicated, though we meet with it again, Nehemiah 13:23; Malachi 2:11. Each generation repeats the sins of its predecessors, unwarned by their bitter experiences. Not the study of history, but the Spirit of God is needed to deal with and subdue individual and national sins [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezra 10

1  Ezra encouraged to reform the strange marriages
6  Ezra assembles the people
9  The people repent, and promise amendment
15  The care to perform it
18  The names of them which had married strange wives

What do the individual words in Ezra 10:18 mean?

And [the following] were found among the sons of the priests who had taken wives pagan of the sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers Maaseiah and Eliezer and Jarib and Gedaliah
וַיִּמָּצֵא֙ מִבְּנֵ֣י הַכֹּהֲנִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֹשִׁ֖יבוּ נָשִׁ֣ים נָכְרִיּ֑וֹת מִבְּנֵ֨י יֵשׁ֤וּעַ בֶּן־ יֽוֹצָדָק֙ וְאֶחָ֔יו מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙ וֶֽאֱלִיעֶ֔זֶר וְיָרִ֖יב וּגְדַלְיָֽה

וַיִּמָּצֵא֙  And  [the  following]  were  found 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
מִבְּנֵ֣י  among  the  sons 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הַכֹּהֲנִ֔ים  of  the  priests 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: כֹּהֵן  
Sense: priest, principal officer or chief ruler.
הֹשִׁ֖יבוּ  had  taken 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
נָשִׁ֣ים  wives 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
נָכְרִיּ֑וֹת  pagan 
Parse: Adjective, feminine plural
Root: נָכְרִי  
Sense: foreign, alien.
מִבְּנֵ֨י  of  the  sons 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יֵשׁ֤וּעַ  of  Jeshua 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יֵשׁוּעַ 
Sense: son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יֽוֹצָדָק֙  of  Jozadak 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄוצָדָק 
Sense: grandson of the high priest Hilkiah; son of the high priest Seraiah; and father of the high priest Joshua; he never attained the office of high priest himself because he was carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
וְאֶחָ֔יו  and  his  brothers 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙  Maaseiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַעֲשֵׂיָה 
Sense: a descendant of Jeshua who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra.
וֶֽאֱלִיעֶ֔זֶר  and  Eliezer 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱלִיעֶזֶר  
Sense: Abraham’s Damascene servant.
וְיָרִ֖יב  and  Jarib 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָרִיב  
Sense: a son of Simeon.
וּגְדַלְיָֽה  and  Gedaliah 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גְּדַלְיָה 
Sense: a son of Jeduthun in the time of David.