⁹Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered within three days in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the courtyard of God’s temple. They were trembling because of this matter and shivering because of the heavy rain.

¹⁰Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, and now you have added to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹Confess to the Lord God of your ancestors what you have done, and do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of this land and from your foreign wives.”

¹²Then the whole assembly shouted in reply, “Yes! We will do as you say. ¹³But the crowd is too large, and it’s the rainy season. We can’t take care of this outside. Besides, there are so many of us who are involved in this sin that it can’t be taken care of in a day or two. ¹⁴Let our leaders represent the whole community. At a set time, everyone who has married a foreign woman must meet with the leaders and judges of each city until our God’s burning anger has turned away from us in this matter.”

¹⁵(Only Jonathan, Asahel’s son, and Jahzeiah, Tikvah’s son, opposed this. Meshullam and Shabbethai, the Levite, supported Jonathan and Jahzeiah.)

¹⁶The former exiles did this. Ezra the priest chose men who were heads of families. He chose one from each family division. (They were all ⸤listed⸥ by name.) They sat down on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. ¹⁷By the first day of the first month, they had finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.

¹⁸Among the descendants of the priests, the following were married to foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, a descendant of Jeshua (who was Jozadak’s son) and his brothers. ¹⁹They shook hands as a pledge that they would get rid of their wives. They sacrificed a ram from their flock as an offering for guilt because they were guilty.

Those Who Were Guilty of Marrying Foreign Women

²⁰

From the descendants of Immer:

Hanani and Zebadiah

²¹

From the descendants of Harim:

Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah

²²

From the descendants of Pashhur:

Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah

²³

From the Levites:

Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer

²⁴

From the singers:

Eliashib

From the gatekeepers:

Shallum, Telem, and Uri

²⁵

From the other Israelites:

From the descendants of Parosh:

Ramiah, Izziah, Malchiah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchiah, and Benaiah

²⁶

From the descendants of Elam:

Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah

²⁷

From the descendants of Zattu:

Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza

²⁸

From the descendants of Bebai:

Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai

²⁹

From the descendants of Bani:

Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth

³⁰

From the descendants of Pahath Moab:

Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh

³¹

From the descendants of Harim:

Eliezer, Isshiah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³²Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah

³³

From the descendants of Hashum:

Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei

³⁴

From the descendants of Bani:

Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasau

³⁸

From the descendants of Binnui:

Shimei, ³⁹Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴²Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph

⁴³

From the descendants of Nebo:

Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah

⁴⁴All of these men had married foreign women. Some of these women had given birth to children.

Read in Logos