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Ezra 9
New King James Version
Ezra 9
New King James Version
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!”
Ezra 9
New International Version
Ezra 9
New International Version
Ezra’s Prayer About Intermarriage
9 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate(A) from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites,(B) Ammonites,(C) Moabites,(D) Egyptians and Amorites.(E) 2 They have taken some of their daughters(F) as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled(G) the holy race(H) with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”(I)
3 When I heard this, I tore(J) my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled.(K) 4 Then everyone who trembled(L) at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled(M) until the evening sacrifice.
5 Then, at the evening sacrifice,(N) I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands(O) spread out to the Lord my God 6 and prayed:
“I am too ashamed(P) and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.(Q) 7 From the days of our ancestors(R) until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword(S) and captivity,(T) to pillage and humiliation(U) at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.
8 “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious(V) in leaving us a remnant(W) and giving us a firm place[a](X) in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes(Y) and a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves,(Z) our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness(AA) in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins,(AB) and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands(AC) 11 you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: ‘The land you are entering(AD) to possess is a land polluted(AE) by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices(AF) they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them(AG) at any time, that you may be strong(AH) and eat the good things(AI) of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.’(AJ)
13 “What has happened to us is a result of our evil(AK) deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved(AL) and have given us a remnant like this. 14 Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry(AM) with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us,(AN) leaving us no remnant(AO) or survivor? 15 Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous!(AP) We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand(AQ) in your presence.(AR)”
Footnotes
- Ezra 9:8 Or a foothold
Ezra 9
Common English Bible
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]
Ezra 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Ezra 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Denunciation of Mixed Marriages
9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.(A) 2 For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way.”(B) 3 When I heard this, I tore my garment and my mantle and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.(C) 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.(D)
Ezra’s Prayer
5 At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God,(E) 6 and said,
“O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.(F) 7 From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for 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.(G) 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, who has left us a remnant and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he[a] may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery.(H) 9 For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.(I)
10 “And now, 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 that you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness.(J) 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’(K) 13 After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this,(L) 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us without remnant or survivor?(M) 15 O Lord, God of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face you because of this.”(N)
Footnotes
- 9.8 Heb our God
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.