Ezra 10:44

All these men had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The narrator concludes the list of men from the descendants of Nebo by recording their marital status and family composition. This statement follows the covenant proposal in Ezra 10:3 and documents the concrete outcome of the men's compliance.

The words — נָשְׂאוּ (na.se.'u) = they had taken, and נָכְרִיּוֹת (na.khe.ri.Yot) = foreign. The text states that these men took foreign women as wives, and the verb יֵשׁ (Yesh) combined with שָׂמוּ (sa.mu) literally records that some had made or fathered children by them.

The thread — Ezra 10:3 establishes the covenant to send away foreign wives and their children, which this verse confirms was enacted. Proverbs 2:16 and Proverbs 5:3 later warn against the dangers of entanglement with foreign women, echoing the boundary this census enforces.

Why it lands — The text states that the men married foreign women and produced children, requiring the separation mandated in Ezra 10:3. It asks the reader to recognize that covenant obedience demands tangible personal reckoning with mixed marriages and their offspring.

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

כָּל־kol-all אֵ֕לֶּה'E.lehthese נָשְׂאוּna.se.'uthey had taken נָשִׁ֣יםna.Shimwomen נָכְרִיּ֑וֹתna.khe.ri.Yotforeign וְיֵ֣שׁve./Yeshand/ thereמֵהֶ֣םme./Hem[were] some of <the>/ themנָשִׁ֔יםna.Shimwives וַיָּשִׂ֖ימוּva/i.ya.Si.muand/ they [masc] had made בָּנִֽים׃ פba.Nimchildren

King James Version

All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

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.
Proverbs 2:16 It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words
Proverbs 5:3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
Proverbs 5:20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?