9 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

² For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

³ And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

⁴ Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.

⁵ And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God,

⁶ And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

⁷ Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

⁸ And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

⁹ For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

¹⁰ And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

¹¹ Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.

¹² Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.

¹³ And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

¹⁴ Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

10 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

² And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

³ Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

⁴ Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.

⁵ Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.

⁶ Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

⁷ And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;

⁸ And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.

⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.

¹⁰ And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.

¹¹ Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.

¹² Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.

¹³ But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.

¹⁴ Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.

¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

¹⁶ And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

¹⁷ And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.

¹⁸ And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

¹⁹ And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.

²⁰ And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.

²¹ And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

²² And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

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

²⁴ Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

²⁶ And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.

²⁷ And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

²⁸ Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

²⁹ And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.

³⁰ And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

³¹ And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

³³ Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

³⁴ Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,

³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

³⁸ And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

³⁹ And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

⁴¹ Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

⁴³ Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

35 Elihu spake moreover, and said,

² Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?

³ For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?

⁴ I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.

⁵ Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.

⁶ If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?

⁷ If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?

⁸ Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.

⁹ By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.

¹⁰ But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;

¹¹ Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?

¹² There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.

¹³ Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.

¹⁴ Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.

¹⁵ But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:

¹⁶ Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.

36 Elihu also proceeded, and said,

² Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf.

³ I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

⁴ For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.

⁵ Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.

⁶ He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.

⁷ He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.

⁸ And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction;

⁹ Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.

¹⁰ He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.

¹¹ If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.

¹² But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.

¹³ But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.

¹⁴ They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.

¹⁵ He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.

¹⁶ Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.

¹⁷ But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee.

¹⁸ Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.

¹⁹ Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.

²⁰ Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.

²¹ Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.

²² Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?

²³ Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity?

²⁴ Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.

²⁵ Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.

²⁶ Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

²⁷ For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:

²⁸ Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.

²⁹ Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?

³⁰ Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.

³¹ For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.

³² With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.

³³ The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.