What Does Ezra 10:12 Mean in the King James?
Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The assembly places the doing of the spoken words “upon us,” making its pledge a shared obligation with real cost.
THE MEANING
A shared yes turns spoken words into an obligation borne by the people who say it. Here, the congregation’s pledge carries a severe consequence: Ezra’s demand concerns sending away wives and children. Agreement gathers the responsibility, but it does not make the cost disappear.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A unanimous answer does not make an action harmless; collective agreement still carries consequences for particular households.
THE ROOT
לַעֲשׂוֹת
la'asot
GROWS FROM
עשה
Do, make, bring about.
“do” in this verse is la'asot. The pledge does not stop at agreement: the congregation says the doing rests “upon us.” The root joins doing with making, so the words take form in what the people bring about.
ALSO GROWS
ma'aseh: Deed, work, or act.
מַעֲשֶׂה
The spoken pledge becomes a deed with consequences.
oseh: One who does or makes.
עֹשֶׂה
The assembly names itself as the agent responsible for carrying out the words.
דְּבָרֶיךָ
devarékha
GROWS FROM
דבר
Speak; word, matter, or thing.
The Hebrew refers to “your words,” keeping the speech connected to the matter the people undertake. What is said is not left as sound; it becomes the matter they agree to do.
ALSO GROWS
davar: Word, matter, or thing.
דָּבָר
The instruction is both spoken and the concrete matter the assembly takes up.
dibber: He spoke.
דִּבֵּר
The spoken instruction is the source of the congregation’s declared action.
הַקָּהָל
ha-qahal
GROWS FROM
קהל
Gather, assemble.
“congregation” in this verse is ha-qahal. The answer comes from a gathered body, not an isolated speaker. Its repeated “we” makes the commitment communal, with its consequences borne across the assembly.
ALSO GROWS
qahal: Assembly, congregation.
קָהָל
The word identifies the body making the pledge together.
qahal: To assemble, gather.
קָהַל
The gathered people speak as one and take on a shared responsibility.
THE PATTERN
Words received become deeds when their hearers take responsibility for doing them.
Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.Both pledges use the Hebrew root עשה (asah, do or make) for the people’s promised action. Deuteronomy joins hearing to doing; Ezra places that doing “upon us,” making the shared responsibility explicit.
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