Bible Strands
Ezra 10:12
And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The entire assembly addresses Ezra in response to his command to confess, separate from foreign wives, and execute God’s will. They speak collectively during a public gathering following the initial covenant proposal.
The words — The phrase ק֣וֹל גָּד֑וֹל (kol gadol) literally means “a great voice,” recording the crowd’s loud, unified declaration. The clause כֵּן כִּ/דְבָרְ/ךָ֥ (ken ki’dvarekha) translates to “so, according to your word,” marking their explicit agreement to Ezra’s directive.
The thread — This corporate pledge aligns with the covenant formulation in Ezra 10:3 and anticipates the pattern of broken commitment seen in Nehemiah 13:23 and Psalms 78:37.
Why it lands — The verse documents a public vow to enact a separation that Ezra 10:13 immediately qualifies as logistically difficult and time-intensive. A reader must weigh the weight of verbal compliance against the practical endurance required to complete the task.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.
Cross-references
- Ezra 10:3 So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.
- Nehemiah 13:23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
- Psalms 78:37 Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
- Psalms 78:57 They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.