Ezra 10:4

4 Take action, for it is your duty, and we are with you; be strong, and do it."

Ezra 10:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 10:4

Arise
From the ground, where he lay prostrate:

for this matter belongeth unto thee;
as a priest and scribe of the law, well versed in it, and therefore could direct what was to be done according to it; and as a ruler under the king of Persia, and a commissioner of his, to inquire whether the law of God was observed by the Jews, ( Ezra 7:14 ) and so had authority to put the law in execution:

we also will be with thee;
to help and assist in the reformation of this evil:

be of good courage, and do it;
do not despair of going through it, though there may be some opposition to it; begin, and doubt not of succeeding.

Ezra 10:4 In-Context

2 Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra, saying, "We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.
3 So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
4 Take action, for it is your duty, and we are with you; be strong, and do it."
5 Then Ezra stood up and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear that they would do as had been said. So they swore.
6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God, and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night. He did not eat bread or drink water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.