28 “The rest of the people—priests, Levites, gatekeepers, musicians, temple servants(A) and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples(B) for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand—

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Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.(A) They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.(B)

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Warning Against Idolatry

14 Do not be yoked together(A) with unbelievers.(B) For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?(C) 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial[a]?(D) Or what does a believer(E) have in common with an unbeliever?(F) 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?(G) For we are the temple(H) of the living God.(I) As God has said:

“I will live with them
    and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.”[b](J)

17 Therefore,

“Come out from them(K)
    and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
    and I will receive you.”[c](L)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 6:15 Greek Beliar, a variant of Belial
  2. 2 Corinthians 6:16 Lev. 26:12; Jer. 32:38; Ezek. 37:27
  3. 2 Corinthians 6:17 Isaiah 52:11; Ezek. 20:34,41

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle(A) and set apart(B) for the gospel of God(C)

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and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
    you swear,(A) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(B)
then the nations will invoke blessings(C) by him
    and in him they will boast.(D)

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Do not be quick with your mouth,
    do not be hasty in your heart
    to utter anything before God.(A)
God is in heaven
    and you are on earth,
    so let your words be few.(B)

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For God is the King of all the earth;(A)
    sing to him a psalm(B) of praise.

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When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.(A)

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So on the first day of the seventh month(A) Ezra the priest brought the Law(B) before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.

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72 The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas[a] of silver and 67 garments for priests.(A)

73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the temple servants,(B) along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns.(C)

Ezra Reads the Law

When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 7:72 That is, about 1 1/4 tons or about 1.1 metric tons

11 Now honor[a] the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.”(A)

12 The whole assembly responded with a loud voice:(B) “You are right! We must do as you say. 13 But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. 14 Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges(C) of each town, until the fierce anger(D) of our God in this matter is turned away from us.” 15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai(E) the Levite, opposed this.

16 So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, 17 and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.

Those Guilty of Intermarriage

18 Among the descendants of the priests, the following had married foreign women:(F)

From the descendants of Joshua(G) son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. 19 (They all gave their hands(H) in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt they each presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.)(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 10:11 Or Now make confession to

Ezra’s Prayer About Intermarriage

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) 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)

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70 The priests, the Levites, the musicians, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.(A)

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36 The priests:

the descendants of Jedaiah(A) (through the family of Jeshua)973
37 of Immer(B)1,052
38 of Pashhur(C)1,247
39 of Harim(D)1,017

40 The Levites:(E)

the descendants of Jeshua(F) and Kadmiel (of the line of Hodaviah)74

41 The musicians:(G)

the descendants of Asaph128

42 The gatekeepers(H) of the temple:

the descendants of
Shallum, Ater, Talmon,
Akkub, Hatita and Shobai139

43 The temple servants:(I)

the descendants of
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
44 Keros, Siaha, Padon,
45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,
46 Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan,
47 Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,
48 Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,
49 Uzza, Paseah, Besai,
50 Asnah, Meunim, Nephusim,
51 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
52 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
53 Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
54 Neziah and Hatipha
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24 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.”(A) I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.(B)

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