The People Admit They Have Sinned

10 Ezra was praying and admitting to God that his people had sinned. He was weeping and throwing himself down in front of the house of God. Then a large crowd of Israelites gathered around him. Men, women and children were there. They too wept bitterly. ² Shekaniah spoke to Ezra. Shekaniah was the son of Jehiel. He belonged to the family line of Elam. Shekaniah said, “We haven’t been faithful to our God. We’ve married women from the nations around us. In spite of that, there is still hope for Israel. ³ So let’s make a covenant in front of our God. Let’s promise to send away all these women and their children. That’s what you have advised us to do. Those who respect our God’s commands have given us the same advice. We want to do what the Law says. ⁴ Get up, Ezra. This matter is in your hands. Do what you need to. We will be behind you all the way. Be brave and do it.”

⁵ So Ezra got up. He made the leading priests and Levites and all the Israelites make a promise. He made them promise they would do what Shekaniah had suggested. And they made that promise. ⁶ Then Ezra left the house of God. He went to Jehohanan’s room. Jehohanan was the son of Eliashib. While Ezra was there, he didn’t eat any food. He didn’t drink any water. That’s because he was filled with sadness. He mourned because the people weren’t faithful to the Lord’s commands. Those people were the ones who had returned from the land of Babylon.

⁷ Then an announcement was sent all through Judah and Jerusalem. All the people who had returned were told to gather together in Jerusalem. ⁸ They were supposed to come there before three days had passed. If they didn’t, they would lose all their property. They would also be removed from the community of those who had returned. That’s what the officials and elders had decided.

⁹ Before the three days were over, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered together in Jerusalem. It was the 20th day of the ninth month. They were sitting in the open area in front of the house of God. They were very upset by what they knew would happen. And they were upset because it was raining. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up. He said, “You haven’t been faithful to the Lord. You have married women from other lands. So you have added to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹ Now honor the Lord, the God of your people. Then do what he wants you to do. Separate yourselves from the nations around you. Send away your wives from other lands.”

¹² The whole community answered with a loud voice. They said, “You are right! We must do as you say. ¹³ But there are a lot of people here. And it’s the rainy season. So we can’t stand outside. Besides, this matter can’t be taken care of in just a day or two. That’s because we have sinned terribly by what we’ve done. ¹⁴ Our officials can act for the whole community. Have everyone in our towns who has married a woman from another land come at a certain time. Tell them to come together with the elders and judges of each town. Then our God will no longer be angry with us concerning this whole matter.” ¹⁵ Only a few men opposed that. They included Jonathan and Jahzeiah. Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite joined them. Jonathan was the son of Asahel. Jahzeiah was the son of Tikvah.

¹⁶ So those who had returned did what had been suggested. Ezra the priest chose some family leaders. There was one from each family group. All of them were chosen by name. They sat down to check out each case. They started on the first day of the tenth month. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month they were finished. They had handled all the cases of the men who had married women from other lands.

A List of Those Who Had Married Women From Other Lands

¹⁸ Among the family lines of the priests, here are the men who had married women from other lands.

²³ Among the Levites, here are the men who had married women from other lands.

²⁵ Among the other Israelites, here are the men who had married women from other lands.

⁴⁴ All these men had married women from other lands. Some of them had even had children by those wives.

Do Not Take Believers to Court

6 Suppose one of you wants to bring a charge against another believer. Should you take it to ungodly people to be judged? Why not take it to the Lord’s people? ² Or don’t you know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? Since this is true, aren’t you able to judge small cases? ³ Don’t you know that we will judge angels? Then we should be able to judge the things of this life even more! ⁴ So suppose you disagree with one another in matters like this. Who do you ask to decide which of you is right? Do you ask people who live in a way the church disapproves of? Of course not! ⁵ I say this to shame you. Is it possible that no one among you is wise enough to judge matters between believers? ⁶ Instead, one believer goes to court against another. And this happens in front of unbelievers!

⁷ When you take another believer to court, you have lost the battle already. Why not be treated wrongly? Why not be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong. And you do it to your brothers and sisters. ⁹ Don’t you know that people who do wrong will not receive God’s kingdom? Don’t be fooled. Those who commit sexual sins will not receive the kingdom. Neither will those who worship statues of gods or commit adultery. Neither will men who sleep with other men. ¹⁰ Neither will thieves or those who always want more and more. Neither will those who are often drunk or tell lies or cheat. People who live like that will not receive God’s kingdom. ¹¹ Some of you used to do those things. But your sins were washed away. You were made holy. You were made right with God. All of this was done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was also done by the Spirit of our God.

Sexual Sins

¹² Some of you say, “I have the right to do anything.” But not everything is helpful. Again some of you say, “I have the right to do anything.” But I will not be controlled by anything. ¹³ Some of you say, “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food. And God will destroy both of them.” But the body is not meant for sexual sins. The body is meant for the Lord. And the Lord is meant for the body. ¹⁴ By his power God raised the Lord from the dead. He will also raise us up. ¹⁵ Don’t you know that your bodies belong to the body of Christ? Should I take what belongs to Christ and join it to a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ When you join yourself to a prostitute, you become one with her in body. Don’t you know this? Scripture says, “The two will become one.” (Genesis 2:24) ¹⁷ But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one with him in spirit.

¹⁸ Keep far away from sexual sins. All the other sins a person commits are outside the body. But sexual sins are sins against their own body. ¹⁹ Don’t you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you, and you have received the Spirit from God. You do not belong to yourselves. ²⁰ Christ has paid the price for you. So use your bodies in a way that honors God.