Intermarriage with Pagans

9 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not ^(A)separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^(B)with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² For they have ^(C)taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the ^(D)holy seed is ^(E)mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this ^[a]trespass.” ³ So when I heard this thing, ^(F)I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down ^(G)astonished. ⁴ Then everyone who ^(H)trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the ^(I)evening sacrifice.

⁵ At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and ^(J)spread out my hands to the Lord my God. ⁶ And I said: “O my God, I am too ^(K)ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for ^(L)our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has ^(M)grown up to the heavens. ⁷ Since the days of our fathers to this day ^(N)we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities ^(O)we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the ^(P)sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to ^(Q)humiliation,^[b] as it is this day. ⁸ And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may ^(R)enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. ^9 (S)For we were slaves. ^(T)Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but ^(U)He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us ^(V)a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, ¹¹ which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the ^(W)uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. ¹² Now therefore, ^(X)do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and ^(Y)never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and ^(Z)leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ ¹³ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God ^(AA)have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, ¹⁴ should we ^(AB)again break Your commandments, and ^(AC)join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be ^(AD)angry with us until You had ^[c]consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, ^(AE)You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. ^(AF)Here we are before You, ^(AG)in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

Greeting

1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and ^(A)the acknowledgment of the truth ^(B)which accords with godliness, ² in hope of eternal life which God, who ^(C)cannot lie, promised before time began, ³ but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;

⁴ To ^(D)Titus, a true son in our common faith:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and ^[a]the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

Qualified Elders

⁵ For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should ^(E)set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— ⁶ if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, ^(F)having faithful children not accused of ^[b]dissipation or insubordination. ⁷ For a ^[c]bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, ^(G)not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, ⁹ holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

The Elders’ Task

¹⁰ For there are many insubordinate, both idle ^(H)talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, ^(I)for the sake of dishonest gain. ^12 (J)One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ¹³ This testimony is true. ^(K)Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ not giving heed to Jewish fables and ^(L)commandments of men who turn from the truth. ^15 (M)To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to ^(N)know God, but ^(O)in works they deny Him, being ^[d]abominable, disobedient, ^(P)and disqualified for every good work.

Qualities of a Sound Church

2 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: ² that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; ³ the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— ⁴ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be discreet, chaste, ^(Q)homemakers, good, ^(R)obedient to their own husbands, ^(S)that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

⁶ Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, ⁷ in all things showing yourself to be ^(T)a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, ^(U)incorruptibility,^{[e] 8} sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of ^[f]you.

Confession of Improper Marriages

10 Now ^(A)while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down ^(B)before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very ^(C)bitterly. ² And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have ^(D)trespassed^[a] against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. ³ Now therefore, let us make ^(E)a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who ^(F)tremble at ^(G)the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the ^(H)law. ⁴ Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. ^(I)Be of good courage, and do it.”

⁵ Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel ^(J)swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath. ⁶ Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ^(K)ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.

⁷ And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants of the captivity, that they must gather at Jerusalem, ⁸ and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those from the captivity.

⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and ^(L)all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have ^[b]transgressed and ^[c]have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now therefore, ^(M)make confession to the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will; ^(N)separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.”

¹² Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Yes! As you have said, so we must do. ¹³ But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter. ¹⁴ Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until ^(O)the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and ^(P)Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support.

¹⁶ Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain ^(Q)heads of the fathers’ households, were set apart by the fathers’ households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.

Pagan Wives Put Away

¹⁸ And among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives the following were found of the sons of ^(R)Jeshua the son of ^[d]Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ And they ^(S)gave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being ^(T)guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their ^(U)trespass offering.

Hold Fast Your Confession

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, having ^(A)boldness^[a] to enter ^(B)the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and ^(C)living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²² let us ^(D)draw near with a true heart ^(E)in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ^(F)He who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ^25 (G)not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and ^(H)so much the more as you see ^(I)the Day approaching.

The Just Live by Faith

²⁶ For ^(J)if we sin willfully ^(K)after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there ^(L)no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and ^(M)fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three ^(N)witnesses. ^29 (O)Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, ^(P)counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, ^(Q)and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, ^(R)“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” ^[b]says the Lord. And again, ^(S)“The Lord will judge His people.” ^31 (T)It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² But ^(U)recall the former days in which, after you were ^[c]illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: ³³ partly while you were made ^(V)a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while ^(W)you became companions of those who were so treated; ³⁴ for you had compassion on ^[d]me ^(X)in my chains, and ^(Y)joyfully accepted the plundering of your ^[e]goods, knowing that ^(Z)you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves ^[f]in heaven. ³⁵ Therefore do not cast away your confidence, ^(AA)which has great reward. ^36 (AB)For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, ^(AC)you may receive the promise:

³⁹ But we are not of those ^(AG)who draw back to ^[j]perdition, but of those who ^(AH)believe to the saving of the soul.