Fasting and Prayer for Protection

²¹ Then I ^(A)proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might ^(B)humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the ^(C)right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. ²² For ^(D)I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, ^(E)“The hand of our God is upon all those for ^(F)good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are ^(G)against all those who ^(H)forsake Him.” ²³ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He ^(I)answered our prayer.

Gifts for the Temple

²⁴ And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them— ²⁵ and weighed out to them ^(J)the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered. ²⁶ I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, ²⁷ twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold. ²⁸ And I said to them, “You are ^(K)holy^[a] to the Lord; the articles are ^(L)holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. ²⁹ Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and ^(M)heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

The Return to Jerusalem

³¹ Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And ^(N)the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road. ³² So we ^(O)came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.

³³ Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were ^(P)weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; with them were the Levites, ^(Q)Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, ³⁴ with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time.

³⁵ The children of those who had been ^(R)carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, ^(S)offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.

³⁶ And they delivered the king’s ^(T)orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond ^[b]the River. So they gave support to the people and the ^[c]house of God.

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 ^(U)separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^(V)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 ^(W)taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the ^(X)holy seed is ^(Y)mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this ^[d]trespass.” ³ So when I heard this thing, ^(Z)I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down ^(AA)astonished. ⁴ Then everyone who ^(AB)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 ^(AC)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 ^(AD)spread out my hands to the Lord my God. ⁶ And I said: “O my God, I am too ^(AE)ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for ^(AF)our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has ^(AG)grown up to the heavens. ⁷ Since the days of our fathers to this day ^(AH)we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities ^(AI)we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the ^(AJ)sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to ^(AK)humiliation,^[e] 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 ^(AL)enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. ^9 (AM)For we were slaves. ^(AN)Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but ^(AO)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 ^(AP)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 ^(AQ)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, ^(AR)do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and ^(AS)never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and ^(AT)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 ^(AU)have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, ¹⁴ should we ^(AV)again break Your commandments, and ^(AW)join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be ^(AX)angry with us until You had ^[f]consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, ^(AY)You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. ^(AZ)Here we are before You, ^(BA)in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”