*Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not aseparated themselves from the people of the lands, bdoing according to their abominations, even of the cCanaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the dAmmonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have etaken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the fholy seed have gmingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and hrulers hath been chief in this trespass. 3 And when I heard this thing, iI rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down kastonied. 4 Then were assembled unto me every one that ltrembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat kastonied until the mevening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my ||heaviness; and nhaving rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and ospread out my hands unto the Lord my God, 6 And said,

O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for pour iniquities are increased over our head, and our ||trespass qis grown up unto the heavens. 7 rSince the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities shave we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to tconfusion of face, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little †space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a uremnant to escape, and to give us ||a nail in his holy place, that our God may wlighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 xFor we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but yhath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and †to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us za wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. 10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, 11 Which thou hast commanded †by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it †from one end to another with their auncleanness. 12 Now therefore bgive not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor cseek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and dleave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. 13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for eour great trespass, seeing that thou our God f†hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such gdeliverance as this; 14 Should we again break thy commandments, and hjoin in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be iangry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor gescaping? 15 O Lord God of Israel, kthou art righteous: for we remain yet gescaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee lin our trespasses: for we cannot mstand before thee because of this.

10 Now awhen Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and bcasting himself down cbefore the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people †wept very sore. 2 And Shechaniah the son of dJehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have etrespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God †to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that ftremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done gaccording to the law. 4 Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: hbe of good courage, and do it. 5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, ito swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware. 6 Then Ezra rose up kfrom before the house of God, and went into the lchamber of mJohanan the son of mEliashib: and when he came thither, he did neat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. 7 And nnthey made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; 8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be †forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.

9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, otrembling because of this matter, and for †the great rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and †have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. 11 Now therefore pmake confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and qseparate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. 12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for ||we are many that have transgressed in this thing. 14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at rappointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until sthe fierce wrath of our God ||for this matter be turned from us. 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah †were employed about this matter: and tMeshullam and uShabbethai the Levite helped them. 16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in vthe first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by v*the first day of the first month.

18 And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of wJeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 And they xgave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered ya ram of the flock for their trespass.