Ezra 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s Intermarriage with Pagans
9 After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves(A) from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices(B) are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.(C) 2 Indeed, the Israelite men[a] have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed(D) has become mixed with the surrounding peoples.(E) The leaders[b] and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”(F) 3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and robe, pulled out some of the hair from my head and beard, and sat down devastated.(G)
Ezra’s Confession
4 Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel(H) gathered around me, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles,(I) while I sat devastated until the evening offering.(J) 5 At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God.(K) 6 And I said:(L)
My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens.(M) 7 Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our fathers until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame,(N) as it is today. 8 But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from Yahweh our God to preserve a remnant(O) for us and give us a stake(P) in His holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us new life and light to our eyes.(Q) 9 Though we are slaves,(R) our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings,(S) giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins,(T) to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 Now, our God, what can we say in light of[c] this? For we have abandoned the commands 11 You gave through Your servants the prophets, saying: “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices.(U) 12 So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons.(V) Never seek their peace or prosperity,(W) so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.” 13 After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt—though You, our God, have punished us less than our sins deserve and have allowed us to survive[d](X)— 14 should we break Your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices?(Y) Wouldn’t You become so angry with us that You would destroy us, leaving no survivors?(Z) 15 Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we survive as a remnant(AA) today. Here we are before You with our guilt, though no one can stand in Your presence because of this.(AB)
Ezra 9
Common English Bible
Facing a communal problem
9 When these tasks were finished, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites haven’t kept themselves separate from the peoples of the neighboring lands with their detestable practices; namely, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 They’ve taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and the holy descendants have become mixed with the neighboring peoples.[a] Moreover, the officials and leaders have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”
3 When I heard this, I tore my clothes and cloak, pulled out hair from my head and beard, and sat down in shock. 4 Then all those who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me on account of the transgression of the returned exiles while I remained sitting in shock until the evening sacrifice.
Ezra prays
5 At the time of the evening sacrifice, I ended my penitential acts. While still wearing[b] my torn clothes and cloak, I fell upon my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 and said,
“My God, I’m too ashamed to lift up my face to you. Our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown to the heavens.
7 “From the days of our ancestors to this day, we’ve been deep in guilt. On account of our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case.
8 “But now, for a brief while the Lord our God has shown favor in leaving us survivors and in giving us a stake in his holy place. Our God cheered us[c] and revived us for a little while in our slavery. 9 Even though we are slaves, our God hasn’t abandoned us in our slavery. Instead, he’s shown us his graciousness before Persia’s kings by reviving us to set up our God’s house, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.
10 “And now, our God, what will we say after this? We have abandoned your commandments, 11 which you commanded through your servants the prophets, saying: ‘The land which you are about to enter to possess is a land polluted by the impurity of the neighboring peoples.[d] Their detestable practices have filled it with uncleanness from end to end. 12 So now, do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage, do not take their sons for your daughters to marry, and never seek their peace or prosperity. This is so you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’
13 “After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt—although you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have allowed us to survive as we do— 14 will we once again break your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who practice these detestable things? Would you not be so angry with us that you leave us without remnant or survivor? 15 Lord, God of Israel, you are righteous, for we have survived and a few remain until now. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face you because of this guilt.”[e]
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