Beginning
Family Leaders Returning With Ezra
8 Now these are the chiefs of the households of the fathers and the genealogical register of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom;
of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel;
of the sons of David, Hattush, 3 a descendant of Shekaniah
and a descendant of Parosh, Zechariah, plus another one hundred and fifty men registered in the genealogical register;
4 of the sons of Pahath-Moab; Eliehoenai a descendant of Zerahiah, plus two hundred other males;
5 of the sons of Zattu, Shekaniah a descendant of Jahaziel, plus three hundred other males;
6 of the sons of Adin, Ebed a descendant of Jonathan, plus fifty other males;
7 of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah a descendant of Athaliah, plus seventy other males;
8 of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah a descendant of Michael, plus eighty other males;
9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah a descendant of Jehiel, plus two hundred and eighteen other males;
10 of the sons of Bani, Shelomith a descendant of Josiphiah, plus one hundred and sixty other males;
11 of the sons of Bebai, his son Zechariah, plus twenty-eight other males;
12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan a descendant of Hakkatan, plus one hundred and ten other males;
13 of the last sons of Adonikam, the ones named Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, plus sixty other males;
14 also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zakkur, plus seventy other males.
Temple Servants
15 I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava, and we camped in tents three days. As I examined the people and the priests, I discovered that none of the sons of Levi were there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, chief men; and also for Joiarib and Elnathan, discerning men. 17 I gave them orders for Iddo, chief at the place Kasiphia, and crafted exactly what they would say to Iddo, his brothers, and the temple servants at the place Kasiphia so that they would bring us ministering servants for the house of our God. 18 Because the good hand of our God was upon us, indeed they brought us a man of understanding descended from the sons of Mahli, who is a descendant of Levi, the son of Israel—Sherebiah along with his sons and his brothers, eighteen men; 19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20 and of the temple servants whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty temple servants, all of them designated by name.
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a good route for us, our little ones, and all our substance. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of foot and horse soldiers to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all who seek Him for good, but His power and His wrath are against all who forsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God for this, and He was moved by our prayers.
Temple Gifts
24 Then I separated twelve of the presiding priests—Sherebiah and Hashabiah, along with ten of their brothers— 25 and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, the vessels, as well as the contribution collected for the house of our God by the king, his counselors, his lords, in conjunction with what all Israel had offered. 26 I weighed out into their hand six hundred and fifty talents[a] of silver, silver articles worth one hundred talents,[b] one hundred talents[c] of gold, 27 twenty gold bowls worth a thousand darics,[d] and two vessels of fine shining bronze, precious as gold.
28 I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord. The vessels are holy also. The silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 29 Watch and guard them until you weigh them before the presiding priests and Levites, and the presiding elders of Israel at Jerusalem, for the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites accepted the weighed-out silver and gold, along with the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
The Return to Jerusalem
31 Then we began the journey from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the attacker and the ambusher along the way. 32 When we arrived at Jerusalem, we stayed there three days.
33 Then on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed out in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest. With him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas as well as Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui—both Levites. 34 All of it was counted by number and by weight, and all the information was recorded at that time.
35 Then, the children of the exile who had come out of captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel. On behalf of all Israel, they offered twelve bulls, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All of it was offered as a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 Finally, they delivered the king’s decrees to the satraps of the king as well as to the governors of the province Beyond the River. Accordingly, they supported the people and the house of God.
Ezra Prays About Intermarriage
9 Now when these things were done, the leaders contacted me, saying, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands. They practice the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 Specifically, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves, as well as for their sons, so that the holy seed has been mingled with the people of the lands. In fact, the involvement of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this vile behavior.”
3 When I heard this, I tore my clothes and my robe, plucked out the hair of my head and from my beard, and sat down astonished. 4 Because of the vile behavior of those who had been in exile, every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered to me, but I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.
5 At the evening sacrifice I rose up from my heaviness and, despite having my clothes and my robe torn, I knelt on my knees and stretched out my hands in prayer to the Lord my God 6 and said:
“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities have expanded over our heads and our wrongdoing has grown up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers until this day, we have been in a great guilt. It is because of our iniquities that we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered—by the sword, by captivity, by spoil, and by being shamed—into the hand of the kings of the lands. This day is like that, too.
8 “Yet now for a little while, there has been a favorable response from the Lord our God—leaving us a remnant to escape, giving us a tent peg from His holy place, having our eyes enlightened by our God, and giving us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 For though we were slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage but has extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, granting us a reviving for the rebuilding of the house of our God, for the repairing of its ruins, and for giving us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 “Now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11 which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land you are going to possess, it is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands. By their abominations, it is has been filled from one end to another with their uncleanness. 12 Now, therefore, cease giving your daughters as wives to their sons, do not take their daughters to your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you might grow strong and eat the good of the land and leave it as an eternal inheritance to your children.’
13 “After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt, seeing that You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such deliverance as this, 14 should we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the people of these abominations? Would You not become so completely angry with us that there would be no remnant nor any who escape? 15 O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we who escaped exile yet remain to this very day. Here we stand before You in our guiltiness even though we should not stand before You because of this.”
The People’s Confession of Sin
10 Now while Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large congregation of men, women, and children gathered around him from Israel, for the people too wept bitterly. 2 Shekaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, “We have acted with vile unfaithfulness against our God and have wedded foreign women from the people of the land, yet there is now hope in Israel concerning this. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to sever relations with all the women and their children according to the counsel of my lord and those who tremble at the commandment of our God. May this be done in accordance with the law. 4 Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. But we are standing with you. Be courageous and act!”
5 Then Ezra stood and made the presiding Levitical priests and all Israel to swear an oath to act according to this word. And they swore an oath. 6 Then Ezra stood in front of the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. When he arrived there, he ate no bread and drank no water because he was mourning over the vile unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the children of the exile to assemble in Jerusalem. 8 Whoever would not come within three days would forfeit all his possessions, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, and would himself be excluded from the congregation of the exiles.
9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together to Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. All the people sat on the grounds of the house of God, trembling about this matter and also because of the great rain. 10 Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have acted unfaithfully by bringing home foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 Now therefore make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do what pleases Him: Sever your relationships with the people of the land, especially from the foreign women.”
12 Then all the congregation answered loudly, “As you have said to us, that we will do. 13 But there are many people, and because it is the rainy season we will not be able to set up outside. Moreover, this is not a task for a day or two since we have so grievously transgressed in this matter. 14 Let now our rulers preside over all the congregation so that, in each of our cities, all who have married foreign women, along with the elders and judges of that city, will come at appointed times, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter is turned from us.” 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.
16 Then the descendants of the captivity did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of the fathers’ households, according to their families, each of them by name. They sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter, 17 and finished dealing with every man who had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.
Those Guilty of Intermarriage
18 Some of the sons of the priests were discovered to have wedded foreign women,
namely the sons of Joshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 They committed to sever their relations with their women, and, being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt.
20 Likewise, of the sons of Immer,
there were Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 Of the sons of Harim,
there were Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 Of the sons of Pashhur,
there were Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 Also, from the Levites,
there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 Among the singers,
there was Eliashib,
and from the porters,
there were Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 Further from Israel,
of the sons of Parosh,
there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.
26 Of the sons of Elam,
there were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 Of the sons of Zattu,
there were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 Of the sons of Bebai,
there were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29 Of the sons of Bani,
there were Meshullam, Malluk, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
30 Of the sons of Pahath-Moab,
there were Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
31 Of the sons of Harim,
there were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluk, and Shemariah.
33 Of the sons of Hashum,
there were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34 Of the sons of Bani,
there were Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
38 Of the sons of Binnui,
there were Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
43 Of the sons of Nebo,
there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 All these married foreign women, and some of them had wives that had children.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.