11 Now the apostles (special messengers) and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard [with astonishment] that the Gentiles (heathen) also had received and accepted and welcomed the Word of God [the doctrine concerning the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God].

² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party [certain Jewish Christians] found fault with him [separating themselves from him in a hostile spirit, opposing and disputing and contending with him],

³ Saying, Why did you go to uncircumcised men and [even] eat with them?

⁴ But Peter began [at the beginning] and narrated and explained to them step by step [the whole list of events]. He said:

⁵ I was in the town of Joppa praying, and [falling] in a trance I saw a vision of something coming down from heaven, like a huge sheet lowered by the four corners; and it descended until it came to me.

⁶ Gazing intently and closely at it, I observed in it [a variety of] four-footed animals and wild beasts and reptiles of the earth and birds of the air,

⁷ And I heard a voice saying to me, Get up, Peter; kill and eat.

⁸ But I said, No, by no means, Lord; for nothing common or unhallowed or [ceremonially] unclean has ever entered my mouth.

⁹ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, do not you defile and profane by regarding or calling it common or unhallowed or unclean.

¹⁰ This occurred three times, and then all was drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹ And right then the three men sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house in which we were.

¹² And the [Holy] Spirit instructed me to accompany them without [the least] hesitation or misgivings or discrimination. So these six brethren accompanied me also, and we went into the man’s house.

¹³ And he related to us how he had seen the angel in his house which stood and said to him, Send men to Joppa and bring Simon who is surnamed Peter;

¹⁴ He will give and explain to you a message by means of which you and all your household [as well] will be saved [^[a]from eternal death].

¹⁵ When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He did on us at the beginning.^(A)

¹⁶ Then I recalled the declaration of the Lord, how He said, John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with (^[b]be placed in, introduced into) the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ If then God gave to them the same Gift [equally] as He gave to us when we believed in (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I and what power or authority had I to interfere or hinder or forbid or withstand God?

¹⁸ When they heard this, they were quieted and made no further objection. And they glorified God, saying, Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance ^[c]unto [real] life [after resurrection].

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9 Afterward, the officials came to me and said, The Israelites and the priests and Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, but have committed the abominations of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

² For they have taken as wives some of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy offspring have mixed themselves with the peoples of the lands. Indeed, the officials and chief men have been foremost in this wicked act and direct violation [of God’s will].^(A)

³ When I heard this, I rent my undergarment and my mantle, I pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled.

⁴ Then all those who trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the offensive violation of His will by the returned exiles gathered around me as I sat astounded until the evening sacrifice.

⁵ At the evening sacrifice I arose from my depression, and, having rent my undergarment and my mantle, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God,

⁶ Saying, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads and our guilt has mounted to the heavens.

⁷ Since the days of our fathers we have been exceedingly guilty; and for our willfulness we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, captivity, plundering, and utter shame, as it is today.

⁸ And now, for a brief moment, grace has been shown us by the Lord our God, Who has left us a remnant to escape and has given us a secure hold in His holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

⁹ For we are bondmen; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy and steadfast love to us before the kings of Persia, to give us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall [of protection] in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ Now, O our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commands

¹¹ Which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations which have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness.

¹² Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it as an inheritance to your children always.

¹³ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant,

¹⁴ Shall we break Your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would You not be angry with us till You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant nor any to escape?^(B)

¹⁵ O Lord, the God of Israel, You are rigidly just and righteous, for we are left a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before You in our guilt, for none can stand before You because of this.

10 Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there gathered to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men, women, and children; for the people wept bitterly.

² And Shecaniah [II] son of Jehiel [one of the congregation], of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra: We have broken faith and dealt treacherously against our God and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land; yet now there is still hope for Israel in spite of this thing.

³ Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God; and let it be done according to the Law.

⁴ Arise, for it is your duty, and we are with you. Be strong and brave and do it.

⁵ Then Ezra arose and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.

⁶ Then Ezra came from before the house of God and went into the lodging place of Jehohanan son of Eliashib [for the night]. There he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned over the returned exiles’ faithlessness [and violation of God’s law].

⁷ And proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles, that they should assemble in Jerusalem,

⁸ And that whoever did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders, all his property should be forfeited and he himself banned from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month, and all the people sat in the open space before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.

¹⁰ And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, You have acted wickedly and broken faith [with God] and have married foreign (heathen) women, increasing the guilt of Israel.

¹¹ So now make confession and give thanks to the Lord, the God of your fathers [for not consuming you], and do His will. ^[a]Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from [your] foreign (heathen) wives.

¹² Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, As you have said, so must we do.

¹³ But the people are many and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand outside. Nor can this work be done in a day or two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.

¹⁴ Let our officials stand for the whole assembly; let all in our cities who have foreign wives come by appointment, and with each group the elders of that city and its judges, until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.

¹⁵ Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

¹⁶ Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest and certain heads of fathers’ houses were selected, according to their fathers’ houses, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter.

¹⁷ And by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of the cases of the men married to foreign wives.

¹⁸ Of the sons of the priests who had married non-Jewish women were found: of the sons of Jeshua [the high priest] son of Jozadak, and his brethren: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

¹⁹ They solemnly vowed to put away their [heathen] wives, and, being guilty, [each] offered a ram of the flock for [his] guilt.

²⁰ Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

²¹ Of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

²² Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah (Hashabiah), and Benaiah.

²⁶ Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

²⁷ Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

²⁸ Of the sons also of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

²⁹ Of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.

³⁰ Of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

³¹ Of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

³³ Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

³⁴ Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,

³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi (Cheluhu),

³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu [Jaasai],

³⁸ Bani, Binnui, Shimei,

³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,

⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,

⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

⁴³ Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo (Jaddai), Joel, and Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these had married foreign women, and some of the wives had borne children.