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The Coming and Work of Ezra
After this, in the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,
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this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the Lord the God of Israel had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.
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For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel.
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The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra
This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, a scholar of the words of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel:
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“Artaxerxes, king of kings, to the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Peace. And now
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“I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence,
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“And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God, and you shall teach those who do not know them.
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Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra
These are their family heads, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
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Ezra’s Prayer
At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God,
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The People’s Response
While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel; the people also wept bitterly.
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Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra, saying, “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.
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Then Ezra stood up and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear that they would do as had been said. So they swore.
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Foreign Wives and Their Children Rejected
Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night. He did not eat bread or drink water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles.
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Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have trespassed and married foreign women and so increased the guilt of Israel.
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Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of families, according to their families, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter.