Ezra 9:3 (DRB)

Passage

And when I had heard this word, I rent my mantle and my coat, and plucked off the hairs of my head and my beard, and I sat down mourning.

Nearby Context

Ezra 9:1 And after these things were accomplished, the princes came to me, saying: The people of Israel, and the priests and Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, and from their abominations, namely, of the Chanaanites, and the Hethites, and the Pherezites, and the Jebusites, and the Ammonites, and the Moabites, and the Egyptians, and the Amorrhites.

Ezra 9:2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and they have mingled the holy seed with the people of the lands. And the hand of the princes and magistrates hath been first in this transgression.

Ezra 9:3 And when I had heard this word, I rent my mantle and my coat, and plucked off the hairs of my head and my beard, and I sat down mourning.

Ezra 9:4 And there were assembled to me all that feared the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that were come from the captivity, and I sat sorrowful, until the evening sacrifice.

Ezra 9:5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my affliction, and having rent my mantle and my garment, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord my God,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heard", "word", "rent", "mantle", "coat", "plucked", "hairs", and "head". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heard" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "For they have taken of their daughters..." into verse 4's "And there were assembled to me all...", so "heard" and "word" belong inside that flow. In Ezra context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "heard" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.