Denunciation of Mixed Marriages

9 ^[a]After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Per′izzites, the Jeb′usites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons; so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” ³ When I heard this, I rent my garments and my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat appalled. ⁴ Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered round me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. ⁵ And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle rent, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, ⁶ saying:

Ezra’s Prayer

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. ⁷ From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt; and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as at this day. ⁸ But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant, and to give us a secure hold^[b] within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. ⁹ For we are bondmen; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection^[c] in Judea and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken thy commandments, ¹¹ which thou didst command by thy servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. ¹² Therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you 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 has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that thou, our God, hast punished us less than our iniquities deserved and hast given us such a remnant as this, ¹⁴ shall we break thy commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou wouldst consume us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? ¹⁵ O Lord the God of Israel, thou art just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as at this day. Behold, we are before thee in our guilt, for none can stand before thee because of this.”

The People’s Response

10 While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel; for the people wept bitterly. ² And Shecani′ah the son of Jehi′el, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: “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. ³ Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. ⁴ Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it.” ⁵ Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.

Foreign Wives and Their Children Rejected

⁶ Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God, and went to the chamber of Jeho-ha′nan the son of Eli′ashib, where he spent the night,^[d] neither eating bread nor drinking water; for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. ⁷ And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, ⁸ and that if any one did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles.

⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. ¹⁰ And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have trespassed and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now then make confession to the Lord the God of your fathers, and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” ¹² Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said. ¹³ But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a work for one day or for two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. ¹⁴ Let our officials stand for the whole assembly; let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, till the fierce wrath of our God over this matter be averted from us.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of As′ahel and Jahzei′ah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshul′lam and Shab′bethai the Levite supported them.

¹⁶ Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men,^[e] heads of fathers’ houses, according to their fathers’ houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter; ¹⁷ and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.

¹⁸ Of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women were found Ma-asei′ah, Elie′zer, Jarib, and Gedali′ah, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jo′zadak and his brethren. ¹⁹ They pledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was a ram of the flock for their guilt. ²⁰ Of the sons of Immer: Hana′ni and Zebadi′ah. ²¹ Of the sons of Harim: Ma-asei′ah, Eli′jah, Shemai′ah, Jehi′el, and Uzzi′ah. ²² Of the sons of Pashhur: Eli-o-e′nai, Ma-asei′ah, Ish′mael, Nethan′el, Jo′zabad, and Ela′sah.

²³ Of the Levites: Jo′zabad, Shim′e-i, Kelai′ah (that is, Keli′ta), Petha-hi′ah, Judah, and Elie′zer. ²⁴ Of the singers: Eli′ashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Rami′ah, Izzi′ah, Malchi′jah, Mi′jamin, Elea′zar, Hashabi′ah,^[f] and Benai′ah. ²⁶ Of the sons of Elam: Mattani′ah, Zechari′ah, Jehi′el, Abdi, Jer′emoth, and Eli′jah. ²⁷ Of the sons of Zattu: Eli-o-e′nai, Eli′ashib, Mattani′ah, Jer′emoth, Zabad, and Azi′za. ²⁸ Of the sons of Be′bai were Jeho-ha′nan, Hanani′ah, Zab′bai, and Ath′lai. ²⁹ Of the sons of Bani were Meshul′lam, Malluch, Adai′ah, Jashub, She′al, and Jer′emoth. ³⁰ Of the sons of Pa′hath-mo′ab: Adna, Chelal, Benai′ah, Ma-asei′ah, Mattani′ah, Bez′alel, Bin′nui, and Manas′seh. ³¹ Of the sons of Harim: Elie′zer, Isshi′jah, Malchi′jah, Shemai′ah, Shim′e-on, ³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemari′ah. ³³ Of the sons of Hashum: Matte′nai, Mat′tattah, Zabad, Eliph′elet, Jer′emai, Manas′seh, and Shi′me-i. ³⁴ Of the sons of Bani: Ma-ada′i, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benai′ah, Bedei′ah, Chel′uhi, ³⁶ Vani′ah, Mer′emoth, Eli′ashib, ³⁷ Mattani′ah, Matte′nai, Ja′asu. ³⁸ Of the sons of Bin′nui:^[g] Shi′me-i, ³⁹ Shelemi′ah, Nathan, Adai′ah, ⁴⁰ Machnad′ebai, Shashai, Sha′rai, ⁴¹ Az′arel, Shelemi′ah, Shemari′ah, ⁴² Shallum, Amari′ah, and Joseph. ⁴³ Of the sons of Nebo: Je-i′el, Mattithi′ah, Zabad, Zebi′na, Jaddai, Jo′el, and Benai′ah. ⁴⁴ All these had married foreign women, and they put them away with their children.^[h]

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

9 An Oracle

The Coming Ruler of God’s People

Restoration of Judah and Israel

Two Kinds of Shepherds

⁴ Thus said the Lord my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. ⁵ Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished; and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, I have become rich’; and their own shepherds have no pity on them. ⁶ For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, says the Lord. Lo, I will cause men to fall each into the hand of his shepherd, and each into the hand of his king; and they shall crush the earth, and I will deliver none from their hand.”

⁷ So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slain for those who trafficked in the sheep. And I took two staffs; one I named Grace, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. ⁸ In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. ⁹ So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die; what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let those that are left devour the flesh of one another.” ¹⁰ And I took my staff Grace, and I broke it, annulling the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. ¹¹ So it was annulled on that day, and the traffickers in the sheep, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. ¹² Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver. ¹³ Then the Lord said to me, “Cast it into the treasury”^[g]—the lordly price at which I was paid off by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and cast them into the treasury^[h] in the house of the Lord. ¹⁴ Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to me, “Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd. ¹⁶ For lo, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering,^[i] or heal the maimed, or nourish the sound, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.