The Arrival of Ezra

7 Now after these things, in the reign of ^(A)Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the ^(B)son of Seraiah, ^(C)the son of Azariah, the son of ^(D)Hilkiah, ² the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ³ the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴ the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵ the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶ this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was ^(E)a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, ^(F)according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. ^7 (G)Some of the children of Israel, the priests, ^(H)the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and ^(I)the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸ And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(J)according to the good hand of his God upon him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had prepared his heart to ^(K)seek^[a] the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to ^(L)teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel:

^27 (W)Blessed^[i] be the Lord God of our fathers, ^(X)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and ^(Y)has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.

So I was encouraged, as ^(Z)the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.

Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra

8 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes: ² of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, ^(AA)Hattush; ³ of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of ^(AB)Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males; ⁴ of the sons of ^(AC)Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; ⁵ of ^[j]the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; ⁶ of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; ⁷ of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; ⁸ of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; ⁹ of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; ¹⁰ of ^[k]the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; ¹¹ of the sons of ^(AD)Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; ¹² of the sons of Azgad, Johanan ^[l]the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; ¹³ of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; ¹⁴ also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and ^[m]Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

Servants for the Temple

¹⁵ Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the ^(AE)sons of Levi there. ¹⁶ Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and ^(AF)Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding. ¹⁷ And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and ^[n]I told them what they should say to ^[o]Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants for the house of our God. ¹⁸ Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they ^(AG)brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men; ¹⁹ and ^(AH)Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; ^20 (AI)also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

²¹ Then I ^(AJ)proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might ^(AK)humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the ^(AL)right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. ²² For ^(AM)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, ^(AN)“The hand of our God is upon all those for ^(AO)good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are ^(AP)against all those who ^(AQ)forsake Him.” ²³ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He ^(AR)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 ^(AS)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 ^(AT)holy^[p] to the Lord; the articles are ^(AU)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 ^(AV)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 ^(AW)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 ^(AX)came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.

³³ Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were ^(AY)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, ^(AZ)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 ^(BA)carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, ^(BB)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 ^(BC)orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond ^[q]the River. So they gave support to the people and the ^[r]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 ^(BD)separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^(BE)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 ^(BF)taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the ^(BG)holy seed is ^(BH)mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this ^[s]trespass.” ³ So when I heard this thing, ^(BI)I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down ^(BJ)astonished. ⁴ Then everyone who ^(BK)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 ^(BL)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 ^(BM)spread out my hands to the Lord my God. ⁶ And I said: “O my God, I am too ^(BN)ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for ^(BO)our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has ^(BP)grown up to the heavens. ⁷ Since the days of our fathers to this day ^(BQ)we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities ^(BR)we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the ^(BS)sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to ^(BT)humiliation,^[t] 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 ^(BU)enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. ^9 (BV)For we were slaves. ^(BW)Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but ^(BX)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 ^(BY)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 ^(BZ)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, ^(CA)do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and ^(CB)never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and ^(CC)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 ^(CD)have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, ¹⁴ should we ^(CE)again break Your commandments, and ^(CF)join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be ^(CG)angry with us until You had ^[u]consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, ^(CH)You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. ^(CI)Here we are before You, ^(CJ)in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

Confession of Improper Marriages

10 Now ^(CK)while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down ^(CL)before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very ^(CM)bitterly. ² And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have ^(CN)trespassed^[v] 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 ^(CO)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 ^(CP)tremble at ^(CQ)the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the ^(CR)law. ⁴ Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. ^(CS)Be of good courage, and do it.”

⁵ Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel ^(CT)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 ^(CU)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 ^(CV)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 ^[w]transgressed and ^[x]have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now therefore, ^(CW)make confession to the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will; ^(CX)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 ^(CY)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 ^(CZ)Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support.

¹⁶ Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain ^(DA)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 ^(DB)Jeshua the son of ^[y]Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ And they ^(DC)gave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being ^(DD)guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their ^(DE)trespass offering.

²⁰ Also of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah; ²¹ of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah; ²² of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ Also of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ Also of the singers: Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ And others of Israel: of the ^(DF)sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Jeziah, Malchiah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah; ²⁶ of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Eliah; ²⁷ of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza; ²⁸ of the ^(DG)sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai; ²⁹ of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and ^[z]Ramoth; ³⁰ of the ^(DH)sons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh; ³¹ of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah; ³³ of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei; ³⁴ of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, ^[aa]Cheluh, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, ^[ab]Jaasai, ³⁸ Bani, Binnui, Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph; ⁴³ of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, ^[ac]Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these had taken pagan wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

14 “Let ^(A)not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many ^[a]mansions; if it were not so, ^[b]I would have told you. ^(B)I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, ^(C)I will come again and receive you to Myself; that ^(D)where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

^5 (E)Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am ^(F)the way, ^(G)the truth, and ^(H)the life. ^(I)No one comes to the Father ^(J)except through Me.

The Father Revealed

^7 (K)“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

⁸ Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? ^(L)He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that ^(M)I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you ^(N)I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, ^(O)or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

The Answered Prayer

^12 (P)“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. ^13 (Q)And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be ^(R)glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ^[c]ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Jesus Promises Another Helper

^15 (S)“If you love Me, ^[d]keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and ^(T)He will give you another ^[e]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— ^17 (U)the Spirit of truth, ^(V)whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you ^(W)and will be in you. ^18 (X)I will not leave you orphans; ^(Y)I will come to you.

Indwelling of the Father and the Son

¹⁹ “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but ^(Z)you will see Me. ^(AA)Because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ At that day you will know that ^(AB)I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ^21 (AC)He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and ^[f]manifest Myself to him.”

^22 (AD)Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, ^(AE)and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and ^(AF)the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

The Gift of His Peace

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. ²⁶ But ^(AG)the ^[g]Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will ^(AH)send in My name, ^(AI)He will teach you all things, and bring to your ^(AJ)remembrance all things that I said to you. ^27 (AK)Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ²⁸ You have heard Me ^(AL)say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because ^[h]I said, ^(AM)‘I am going to the Father,’ for ^(AN)My Father is greater than I.

²⁹ “And ^(AO)now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. ³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, ^(AP)for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has ^(AQ)nothing in Me. ³¹ But that the world may know that I love the Father, and ^(AR)as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

Simple Trust in the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.