The Meaning of Ezra 10:19 Explained

Ezra 10:19

KJV: And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.

YLT: and they give their hand to send out their wives, and, being guilty, a ram of the flock, for their guilt.

Darby: And they gave their hand to send away their wives; and they offered a ram of the flock, as trespass-offering for their guilt.

ASV: And they gave their hand that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they gave  their hands  that they would put away  their wives;  and [being] guilty,  [they offered] a ram  of the flock  for their trespass. 

What does Ezra 10:19 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 10:19 mean?

And they gave their promise that they would put away their wives and [being] guilty [they presented] a ram of the flock as their trespass offering -
וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ יָדָ֖ם לְהוֹצִ֣יא נְשֵׁיהֶ֑ם וַאֲשֵׁמִ֥ים אֵֽיל־ צֹ֖אן עַל־ אַשְׁמָתָֽם ס

וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ  And  they  gave 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
יָדָ֖ם  their  promise 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
לְהוֹצִ֣יא  that  they  would  put  away 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
נְשֵׁיהֶ֑ם  their  wives 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
וַאֲשֵׁמִ֥ים  and  [being]  guilty 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: אָשֵׁם  
Sense: guilty, faulty (and obliged to offer a guilt-offering).
אֵֽיל־  [they  presented]  a  ram 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אַיִל 
Sense: ram.
צֹ֖אן  of  the  flock 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
אַשְׁמָתָֽם  their  trespass  offering 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אַשְׁמָה  
Sense: guiltiness, guilt, offense, sin, wrong-doing.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation