Beginning
The List of Family Heads Who Returned With Ezra
8 These are the heads of their families who went up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes, listed according to their registration in the genealogy:
2 from the descendants of Phinehas: Gershom,
from the descendants of Ithamar: Daniel,
from the descendants of David: Hattush 3 from the sons of Shekaniah,[a]
from the descendants of Parosh: Zechariah, also registered with him in the genealogy were 150 males,
4 from the descendants of Pahath Moab: Elihoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him were 200 males,
5 from the descendants of Zattu:[b] Shekaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him were 300 males,
6 and from the descendants of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him were 50 males,
7 and from the descendants of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him were 70 males,
8 and from the descendants of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him were 80 males,
9 from the descendants of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him were 218 males,
10 and from the descendants of Bani:[c] Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him were 160 males,
11 and from the descendants of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him were 28 males,
12 and from the descendants of Azgad: Jonathan son of Hakkatan, and with him were 110 males,
13 and from the descendants of Adonikam—they were the last descendants[d]—these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them were 60 males,
14 and from the descendants of Bigvai: Uthai and Zakkur,[e] and with him were 70 males.
The Journey to Jerusalem
15 So I gathered them together at the canal[f] that runs to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I looked over the people and the priests who were there, but I did not find any Levites among them. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers. 17 I sent them to Iddo, the leader serving in the place called Kasiphia, and I gave them a message to speak to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants in the place called Kasiphia, so that they would bring us ministers for the house of our God.
18 So, since the good hand of our God was resting upon us, they brought us the following people: Sherebiah, a discerning man from the descendants of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, along with his sons and his brothers,[g] eighteen men; 19 also Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari and his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20 and from the temple servants whom David and the leaders appointed to the service of the Levites, two hundred twenty temple servants. All of them were registered by name.
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the Ahava Canal in order to humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey—for us, for our children, and for all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and cavalry to help protect us against enemies on the journey, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God rests upon all who seek him, for their good, but his power and anger are against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and we sought help from our God concerning this, and he granted our request.
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests to be with Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten of their brothers with them. 25 I weighed out for them the silver and the gold and the vessels—the special contribution for the house of our God, which had been contributed by the king and his advisors and officials and by all the Israelites who were present there.
26 I weighed out and placed into their hands six hundred fifty talents[h] of silver, silver vessels worth one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 and twenty gold bowls worth one thousand darics,[i] and two finely polished bronze vessels, as precious as gold.
28 Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of our fathers. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them again in front of the leaders of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the families[j] of Israel in Jerusalem, before placing them into the storerooms of the House of the Lord.”
30 So the priests and the Levites received the full weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels in order to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
31 Then, on the twelfth day of the first month, we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of enemies and from ambushes on the way. 32 We arrived in Jerusalem and stayed there three days.
Ezra Begins His Mission
33 Then on the fourth day, in the house of our God we weighed out the silver and gold and the vessels before handing them over to Meremoth son of Uriah the priest. Also with him was Eleazar son of Phinehas, and with them were Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui, the Levites. 34 Everything was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded at that time.
35 The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve goats for a sin offering—all offered as a burnt offering to the Lord.
36 They also delivered the king’s laws to the king’s satraps[k] and the governors of Trans-Euphrates, and they supported the people and the house of God.
The Sin of Intermarriage
9 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, who live according to their detestable practices—the practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2 They have taken wives from their daughters for themselves and for their sons. They have thereby mixed the holy seed with the peoples of the lands, and the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”
3 Then when I heard about this situation, I tore my clothing and my robe, and I pulled out some of the hair on my head and my beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, was gathered around me as I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 At the time of the evening sacrifice, I arose from my self-humiliation, and with my clothing and my robe torn, I got down on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God.
Ezra’s Prayer
6 I said:
My God, I am ashamed and too embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, because our sinful deeds[l] have risen above our heads, and our guilt is so great that it reaches to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until today, we have been extremely guilty. Because of our sinful deeds, we, our kings, and our priests have been turned over to the kings of the lands—by sword, by captivity, by plunder, and today by humiliation.
8 Now, for a short time, mercy has been shown to us from the Lord our God, in order to leave us a remnant that has escaped and to give us a stake in his Holy Place, so that our God may give light to our eyes and give us a little relief in our slavery, 9 because we are slaves. However, even in our slavery our God has not abandoned us but has extended favor to us before the kings of Persia in order to give us relief, to raise up the house of our God and to restore its ruins, and to give us a protective wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 Now, what can we say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded through your servants the prophets when you said, “The land which you are entering to possess is a land polluted with the filth of the peoples of the lands and with their detestable practices that fill it from end to end with their impurity. 12 So now, do not give your daughters to their sons, and do not take their daughters as wives for your sons. Never seek their welfare or their prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.”
13 After everything that has come upon us because of our evil acts and our extreme guilt, nevertheless you, our God, have punished us less than we deserved and have given us a remnant that has escaped like this. 14 Should we break your commandments again by intermarrying with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t you remain angry with us until you completely destroyed us and left us without a survivor or a remnant that has escaped?
15 Lord, God of Israel, it is because you are righteous that we are left with a remnant today. Here we are before you in our guilt, but no one can stand before you because of this.
Confession Leads to a New Covenant
10 Now as Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and throwing himself down in front of the house of God, a very large crowd from Israel gathered to him, including men, women, and children. The people also wept bitterly.
2 Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel from the descendants of Elam responded to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign wives from the peoples of the land. However, now there is hope for Israel in this matter. 3 So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all our wives and the children born to them, according to the advice of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law. 4 Get up, because the matter is your concern, and we are with you. Be strong and take action.”
5 Then Ezra got up and required the officials among the priests, the Levites, and all Israel to take an oath that they would deal with this matter. So they took an oath.
6 Then Ezra got up and left the front of the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib and spent the night there.[m] He did not eat any food or drink any water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 Then a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to gather in Jerusalem. 8 According to the decision of the officials and the elders, anyone who would not come within three days would forfeit all his property, and he would be banished from the community of the exiles.
Investigating the Intermarriages
9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within three days. (It was in the ninth month,[n] on the twentieth day of the month.) All the people were sitting in the public square in front of the house of God, trembling[o] because of the situation and as a result of the rains.
10 Ezra the priest arose and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives, thereby adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 So now, give praise to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will—separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from your foreign wives.”
12 The entire assembly answered in a loud voice, “It is so! We must do as you have said. 13 However, there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We can’t stand around outdoors, and the business will take more than a day or two, since we have rebelled greatly in this matter. 14 Let our officers represent the entire assembly, and let everyone in our cities who has married foreign wives come at appointed times. The elders from every city and its judges should come with them, until the fierce anger of our God concerning this matter has been turned away from us.” 15 (Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.)
16 So the exiles acted according to this decision. Ezra the priest and men who were the leading fathers of the fathers’ houses[p] were selected, all of them identified by name. They convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17 On the first day of the first month, they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign wives.
The Report of the Investigation
18 From the descendants of the priests who had married foreign wives,
these men were identified:
From the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers they were Ma’aseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 They pledged to send away their wives and to offer guilt offerings: a ram from the flock for their guilt.
20 From the descendants of Immer they were Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 From the descendants of Harim they were Ma’aseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 From the descendants of Pashhur they were Elioenai, Ma’aseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 From the Levites they identified Jozabad and Shimei and Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 From the singers: Eliashib.
From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 From the laypeople of Israel:
From the descendants of Parosh they were Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah,[q] and Benaiah.
26 From the descendants of Elam they were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 From the descendants of Zattu they were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 From the descendants of Bebai they were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29 From the descendants of Bani they were Meshullam, Malluk, and Adaiah, Jashub and Sheal and Jeremoth.
30 From the descendants of Pahath Moab they were Adna and Kelal,
Benaiah, Ma’aseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and Binnui and Manasseh, 31 and from the citizens of Harim they were Eliezer, Isshijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Simeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluk, and Shemariah.
33 From the descendants of Hashum they were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34 From the descendants of Bani they were Ma’adai, Amram, and Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhu, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Ja’asai, 38 and Bani and Binnui, Shimei,[r] 39 and Shelemiah and Nathan and Adaiah, 40 Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.[s]
43 From the citizens of Nebo they were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 All these had taken foreign wives and had children with them.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.