The Unfaithfulness of the Exiles

9 Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not ^(A)separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^(B)according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. ² For ^(C)they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that ^(D)the holy seed has ^(E)intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the officials have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.” ³ When I heard about this matter, I ^(F)tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and ^(G)sat down in consternation.