Ezra 10 · Verse 2

Ezra 10:2

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
Ezra 10:2, King James Version

Ezra 10:2 in other translations

BSBThen Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel.
WEBShecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land. Yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.
ASVAnd Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.
YLTAnd Shechaniah son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answereth and saith to Ezra, ‘We--we have trespassed against our God, and we settle strange women of the peoples of the land; and now there is hope for Israel concerning this,
DARBYAnd Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have acted unfaithfully toward our God, and have taken foreign wives of the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.
BBEAnd Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answering, said to Ezra, We have done evil against our God, and have taken as our wives strange women of the peoples of the land: but still there is hope for Israel in this question.
WebsterAnd Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken foreign wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

What does Ezra 10:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezra 10:2-4
2-4. Shechaniah ... answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed--This was one of the leading men, who was not himself a delinquent in the matter, for his name does not occur in the following list. He spoke in the general name of the people, and his conduct evinced a tender conscience, as well as no small fortitude in making such a proposal; for as his father and five paternal uncles (Ezr 10:26) were involved in the guilt of unlawful marriages, he showed, by the measure he recommended, that he deemed it better to obey God than to please his nearest relatives. yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing--This hope, however, depended on timely measures of reformation, and therefore, instead of surrendering themselves to despair or despondency, he counselled them to amend their error without delay, relying on God's mercy for the past. Though the proposal may seem harsh and cruel, yet in the peculiar circumstances of the Jews it was just as well as necessary; and he urged the duty of seeing it executed on Ezra, as the only person competent to carry it into effect, being possessed of skill and address for so delicate and difficult a work, and invested by God, and under Him by the Persian king (Ezr 7:23-28), with the requisite authority to enforce it.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Shechaniah the son of Jehiel - He speaks here in the name of the people, not acknowledging himself culpable, for he is not in the following list. It is in the same form of speech with that in James, Jam 3:9. With the tongue curse we men. He seems to have been a chief man among the people; and Ezra, at present, stood in need of his influence and support. Yet now there is hope in Israel - מקוה mikveh, expectation, of pardon; for the people were convinced of the evil, and were deeply penitent: hence it is said, Ezr 10:1, that they wept sore.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezra 10:1-5

Shechaniah owned the national guilt. The case is sad, but it is not desperate; the disease threatening, but not incurable. Now that the people begin to lament, a spirit of repentance seems to be poured out; now there is hope that God will forgive, and have mercy. The sin that rightly troubles us, shall not ruin us. In melancholy times we must observe what makes for us, as well as against us. And there may be good…

Read the full comment on Ezra 10:1-5 →

Ezra 10:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּעַן֩vai.ya.'Anand he answeredH6030
שְׁכַנְיָ֨הshe.khan.YahShecaniahH7935
בֶן\־ven-[the] son ofH1121
יְחִיאֵ֜לye.chi.'ElJehielH3171
מִבְּנֵ֤יmi.be.Neione of [the] descendants ofH1121
עֵילָם֙o.lamElamH5867
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
לְעֶזְרָ֔אle.'ez.Ra'to EzraH5830
אֲנַ֙חְנוּ֙'a.Nach.nuweH587
מָעַ֣לְנוּma.'Al.nuwe have acted unfaithfullyH4603
בֵאלֹהֵ֔ינוּve.lo.Hei.nuagainst God ourH430
וַנֹּ֛שֶׁבva.No.shevand we have marriedH3427
נָשִׁ֥יםna.ShimwomenH802
נָכְרִיּ֖וֹתna.khe.ri.YotforeignH5237
מֵעַמֵּ֣יme.'a.Meifrom [the] peoples ofH5971
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retzthe landH776
וְעַתָּ֛הve.'a.Tahand nowH6258
יֵשׁ\־yesh-thereH3426
מִקְוֶ֥הmik.Veh[is] hopeH4723
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לle.Yis.ra.'Elfor IsraelH3478
עַל\־'al-onH5921
זֹֽאת\׃ZotthisH2063

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezra 10:2

  • Nehemiah 13:27

    Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?

  • Ezra 9:2

    For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

  • Exodus 34:12

    Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

  • Jeremiah 3:12-13

    Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.

  • Exodus 34:6-7

    And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

  • Ezra 10:26

    And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.

  • 1 John 1:7-9

    But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  • Isaiah 55:6-7

    Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

  • James 2:9

    But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

  • Nehemiah 3:29

    After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate.

  • Nehemiah 7:34

    The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.

  • Ezra 2:7

    The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Shechaniah.
26; Ne 3:29
Elam.
2:7,31; Ne 7:12,34
We have trespassed.Shechaniah here speaks in the name of the people, not acknowledging himself culpable; for he is not in the following list.
Compare.
Jas 2:9; Ex 34:12; Ne 13:27
yet now there is hope.
Ex 34:6,7; Isa 55:6,7; Jer 3:12,13; 1Jo 1:7-9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezra 10:1

    Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

  • Ezra 10:2

    And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

  • Ezra 10:3

    Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

Read all of Ezra 10

Ezra 10:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces respondió Sechânías hijo de Jehiel, de los hijos de Elam, y dijo á Esdras: Nosotros hemos prevaricado contra nuestro Dios, pues tomamos mujeres extranjeras de los pueblos de la tierra: mas hay aún esperanza para Israel sobre esto.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Shecania, fils de Jekhiel, des fils d’Élam, prit la parole et dit à Esdras: Nous avons été infidèles à notre Dieu, et nous avons pris des femmes étrangères d’entre les peuples du pays. Mais maintenant, il y a espérance pour Israël à cet égard.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Schekanja, der Sohn Jechiels, von den Söhnen Elams, hob an und sprach zu Esra: Wir haben treulos gehandelt gegen unseren Gott und haben fremde Weiber aus den Völkern des Landes heimgeführt; nun aber ist noch Hoffnung für Israel betreffs dieser Sache.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et respondit Sechenias filius Jehiel de filiis Ælam, et dixit Esdræ: Nos prævaricati sumus in Deum nostrum, et duximus uxores alienigenas de populis terræ: et nunc, si est pœnitentia in Israël super hoc,