Ezra 10:11 (LSB)

Passage

So now, make confession to Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”

Nearby Context

Ezra 10:9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain.

Ezra 10:10 Then Ezra the priest arose and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel.

Ezra 10:11 So now, make confession to Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”

Ezra 10:12 Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “This is so! As you have said, so it is our duty to do.

Ezra 10:13 But there are many people; it is the rainy season, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "make", "confession", "yahweh", "fathers", "separate", "yourselves", "peoples", and "land". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "make" and "confession", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Then Ezra the priest arose and said..." into verse 12's "Then all the assembly answered and said...", so "make" and "confession" 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 "make" and "confession" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.