Ezra 9:1-3

GOD’S WORD Translation

Ezra Leads the People in Prayer

9 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have failed to keep themselves separate from the neighboring groups of people and from the disgusting practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. ² The Israelites and their sons have married some of these foreign women. They have mixed our holy race with the neighboring groups of people. Furthermore, the leaders and officials have led the way in being unfaithful.”

³ When I heard this, I tore my clothes ⌞in distress⌟, pulled hair from my scalp and my beard, and sat down in shock.