Ezra 9–10

¹And at the completion of these things, drawn nigh unto me have the heads, saying, ‘The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not been separated from the peoples of the lands, as to their abominations, even the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, the Egyptian, and the Amorite, ²for they have taken of their daughters to them, and to their sons, and the holy seed have mingled themselves among the peoples of the lands, and the hand of the heads and of the seconds have been first in this trespass.’ ³And at my hearing this word, I have rent my garment and my upper robe, and pluck out of the hair of my head, and of my beard, and sit astonished, ⁴and unto me are gathered every one trembling at the words of the God of Israel, because of the trespass of the removal, and I am sitting astonished till the present of the evening.

⁵And at the present of the evening I have risen from mine affliction, and at my rending my garment and my upper robe, then I bow down on my knees, and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God, ⁶and say, ‘O my God, I have been ashamed, and have blushed to lift up, O my God, my face unto Thee, for our iniquities have increased over the head, and our guilt hath become great unto the heavens.

⁷‘From the days of our fathers we are in great guilt unto this day, and in our iniquities we have been given—we, our kings, our priests—into the hand of the kings of the lands, with sword, with captivity, and with spoiling, and with shame of face, as at this day.

⁸‘And now, as a small moment hath grace been from Jehovah our God, to leave to us an escape, and to give to us a nail in His holy place, by our God’s enlightening our eyes, and by giving us a little quickening in our servitude; ⁹for servants we are, and in our servitude our God hath not forsaken us, and stretcheth out unto us kindness before the kings of Persia, to give to us a quickening to lift up the house of our God, and to cause its wastes to cease, and to give to us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

¹⁰‘And now, what do we say, O our God, after this? for we have forsaken Thy commands, ¹¹that Thou hast commanded by the hands of thy servants the prophets, saying, The land into which ye are going to possess it, is a land of impurity, by the impurity of the people of the lands, by their abominations with which they have filled it—from mouth unto mouth—by their uncleanness; ¹²and now, your daughters ye do not give to their sons, and their daughters ye do not take to your sons, and ye do not seek their peace, and their good—unto the age, so that ye are strong, and have eaten the good of the land, and given possession to your sons unto the age.

¹³‘And after all that hath come upon us for our evil works, and for our great guilt (for Thou, O our God, hast kept back of the rod from our iniquities, and hast given to us an escape like this), ¹⁴do we turn back to break Thy commands, and to join ourselves in marriage with the people of these abominations? art not Thou angry against us—even to consumption—till there is no remnant and escaped part?

¹⁵‘O Jehovah, God of Israel, righteous art Thou, for we have been left an escape, as it is this day; lo, we are before Thee in our guilt, for there is none to stand before Thee concerning this.’

Chapter 10

¹And at Ezra’s praying, and at his making confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there have been gathered unto him out of Israel an assembly very great—men and women and children—for the people have wept, multiplying weeping. ²And Shechaniah son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answereth and saith to Ezra, ‘We—we have trespassed against our God, and we settle strange women of the peoples of the land; and now there is hope for Israel concerning this, ³and now, let us make a covenant with our God, to cause all the women to go out, and that which is born of them, by the counsel of the Lord, and of those trembling at the command of our God, and according to law it is done; ⁴rise, for on thee is the matter, and we are with thee; be strong, and do.’ ⁵And Ezra riseth, and causeth the heads of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear to do according to this word—and they swear.

⁶And Ezra riseth from before the house of God, and goeth unto the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib; yea, he goeth there, bread he hath not eaten, and water he hath not drunk, for he is mourning because of the trespass of the removal. ⁷And they cause a voice to pass over into Judah and Jerusalem, to all sons of the removal, to be gathered to Jerusalem, ⁸and every one who cometh not in by the third day, according to the counsel of the heads and of the elders, all his substance is devoted, and himself separated from the assembly of the removal. ⁹And gathered are all the men of Judah and Benjamin to Jerusalem by the third day, it is the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sit in the broad place of the house of God, trembling on account of the matter and of the showers. ¹⁰And Ezra the priest riseth, and saith unto them, ‘Ye—ye have trespassed, and ye settle strange women, to add to the guilt of Israel; ¹¹and, now, make confession to Jehovah, God of your fathers, and do His good pleasure, and be separated from the peoples of the land, and from the strange women.’ ¹²And all the assembly answer and say with a great voice, ‘Right; according to thy word—on us to do; ¹³but the people are many, and it is the time of showers, and there is no power to stand without, and the work is not for one day, nor for two, for we have multiplied to transgress in this thing.

¹⁴‘Let, we pray thee, our heads of all the assembly stand, and all who are in our cities, who have settled strange wives, do come in at the times appointed, and with them the elders of city and city, and its judges, till the turning back of the fury of the wrath of our God from us, for this thing.’

¹⁵Only Jonathan son of Asahel, and Jahaziah son of Tikvah, stood against this, and Meshullam, and Shabbethai the Levite, helped them. ¹⁶And the sons of the removal do so, and Ezra the priest, and men, heads of the fathers, for the house of their fathers, are separated, even all of them by name, and they sit on the first day of the tenth month, to examine the matter; ¹⁷and they finish with all the men who have settled strange women unto the first day of the first month. ¹⁸And there are found of the sons of the priests that have settled strange women: of the sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah; ¹⁹and they give their hand to send out their wives, and, being guilty, a ram of the flock, for their guilt. ²⁰And of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah; ²¹and of the sons of Harim: Masseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah; ²²and of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. ²³And of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah—he is Kelita,—Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. ²⁴And of the singers: Eliashib. And of the gatekeepers: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. ²⁵And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchijah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. ²⁶And of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah. ²⁷And of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. ²⁸And of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai. ²⁹And of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. ³⁰And of the sons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. ³¹And of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³²Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah. ³³Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei. ³⁴Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel, ³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhu, ³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, ³⁸and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, ³⁹and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, ⁴⁰Machnadbai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴²Shallum, Amariah, Joseph. ⁴³Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah; ⁴⁴all these have taken strange women, and there are of them women—who adopt sons.

Chapter 1