^2 (A)For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the ^(B)holy race^[a] has ^(C)mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.”

²³ In those days also I saw the Jews ^(A)who had married women ^(B)of Ashdod, ^(C)Ammon, and ^(D)Moab. ²⁴ And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.

Those Guilty of Intermarriage

¹⁸ Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, some of the sons of ^(A)Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers. ¹⁹ They ^(B)pledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was ^(C)a ram of the flock for their guilt.^{[a] 20 (D)}Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. ^21 (E)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 Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. ²⁴ Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah,^[b] and Benaiah. ²⁶ Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. ²⁷ Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. ²⁸ Of the sons of Bebai were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. ²⁹ Of the sons of Bani were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. ³⁰ Of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh. ³¹ Of the ^(F)sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, 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 ^(G)Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu. ³⁸ Of the sons of Binnui:^[c] 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, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. ⁴⁴ All these had married foreign women, and some of the women ^(H)had even borne children.^[d]

⁶ “For ^(A)you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be ^(B)a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

¹⁶ and you take of ^(A)their daughters for your sons, and their daughters ^(B)whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

² And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: ^(A)“We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.

A Chosen People

7 “When the ^(A)Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, ^(B)the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations ^(C)more numerous and mightier than you, ^2 (D)and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must ^(E)devote them to complete destruction.^{[a] (F)}You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. ^3 (G)You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, ⁴ for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. ^(H)Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you ^(I)quickly.

¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. ^(A)Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

^15 (A)Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?^[a] And what was the one God^[b] seeking?^{[c] (B)}Godly offspring. So guard yourselves^[d] in your spirit, and let none of you be ^(C)faithless to the wife of your youth.