Beginning

8 Therefore these be the princes of families (And so these be the leaders of the families), and this is the genealogy of them, that were in the realm of Artaxerxes, the king, and went up with me from Babylon.

² Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush, (the son of Shechaniah);

³ of the sons of Shechaniah and of the sons of Pharosh, Zechariah, and with him were numbered an hundred and fifty men; (of the sons of Pharosh, Zechariah, and with him were listed a hundred and fifty men;)

⁴ of the sons of Pahath, Moab, and Elihoenai, the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men; (of the sons of Pahathmoab, Elihoenai, the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men;)

⁵ of the sons of (Zattu,) Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred men;

⁶ of the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty men;

⁷ of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah, the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy men;

⁸ of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael, and with him fourscore men;

⁹ of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen men;

¹⁰ of the sons of (Bani,) Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and sixty men;

¹¹ of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight men;

¹² of the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten men;

¹³ of the sons of Adonikam, that were the last (who were the last ones to return), and these be the names of them, Eliphelet, and Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty men;

¹⁴ (and) of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy men.

¹⁵ And I gathered all these men at the flood, that runneth down to Ahava; and we dwelled there three days. And I sought among the people, and in the priests, of the sons of Levi, and I found not (any of them) there. (And I gathered all these men at the river, that runneth down to Ahava; and we stayed there three days. And I sought among the people, and among the priests, for the Levites, but I did not find any of them there.)

¹⁶ Therefore I sent (for) Eliezer, and Ariel, and Shemaiah, and Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and Zechariah, and Meshullam, princes (the leaders); and Joiarib, and Elnathan, (the) wise men;

¹⁷ and I sent them to Iddo, that is the chief (man) in the place of Casiphia, and I put in the mouth of them the words, which they should speak to Iddo, and to his brethren, (the) Nethinims, in the place of Casiphia, for to bring to us the ministers of the house of our God. (and I sent them to Iddo, that is the chief man, or the leader, at the place of Casiphia, and I put the words in their mouths, which they should say to Iddo, and to his kinsmen, the Temple workers, at that place of Casiphia, yea, that they should bring us ministers for the House of our God.)

¹⁸ And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought (to us) a full wise man of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and they brought Sherebiah, and his sons, twenty, and his brethren, were eighteen; (And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us Sherebiah, a very wise man of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and along with him, they brought his sons and his kinsmen, in all, eighteen men;)

¹⁹ and Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah came with him of the sons of Merari, (and) they brought his brethren, and his sons, twenty; (and Hashabiah, and along with him came Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, and his kinsmen, and their sons, in all, twenty men;)

²⁰ and of [the] Nethinims, which David and the princes had given to the services of (the) deacons, they brought two hundred and twenty Nethinims; all these were called by their names. (and of the Temple workers, whom David and his officials had appointed for service to the Levites, they brought two hundred and twenty Temple workers; all these were called by their names.)

²¹ And I preached there fasting beside the flood of Ahava, that we should be tormented before the Lord our God, and that we should ask of him the right way to us, and to our sons, and to all our substance. (And I preached, or proclaimed, that we should fast there beside the Ahava River, and that we should be tormented before the Lord our God, and that we should ask him for a safe journey for us, and for our sons, and for all our possessions.)

²² For I shamed to ask of the king help, and horsemen, which should defend us from our enemies in the way (For I was ashamed to ask the king for any help, or for horsemen, who could defend us on the way from our enemies), for we had said to the king, The hand of our God is upon all men that seek him in goodness; and his lordship, and his strength, and his strong vengeance, be on all men that forsake him.

²³ And (so) we fasted, and prayed (to) our God for this thing, and it befelled to us wellsomely.

²⁴ And I separated twelve of the princes of (the) priests, Sherebiah, and Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them; (And I separated out, or chose, twelve of the leaders of the priests, Sherebiah, and Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them;)

²⁵ and I betook under certain weight and number to them the silver and gold, and the hallowed vessels of the house of our God, which the king had offered, and his counsellors, and his princes, and all the men that were found of Israel. (and I delivered into their hands, under certain weight and number, the silver and the gold, and the holy vessels of the House of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, or his officials, and his leaders, and all the Israelites who were found, had offered.)

²⁶ And I betook under certain weight and number into the hands of them six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and an hundred silveren vessels; an hundred talents of gold, (And so I delivered into their hands, under certain weight and number, six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and a hundred silver vessels; and a hundred talents of gold,)

²⁷ and twenty golden cups, or basins, which had in weight a thousand pieces of gold; and two fair vessels of best brass, shining as gold. (and twenty gold bowls, which were worth/which weighed a thousand pieces of gold; and two beautiful vessels of the best bronze, shining as gold.)

²⁸ And I said to them, Ye be the holy men of the Lord; and therefore watch ye, and keepeth the holy vessels, and the silver and gold (and so keepeth watch over the holy vessels, and the silver and the gold), that is offered by free will to the Lord God of our fathers,

²⁹ till ye yield (them) under certain weight and number before the princes of priests, and of deacons, and before (the) dukes of (the) families of Israel in Jerusalem, into the chamber of God’s house. (until ye give them under certain weight and number to the leaders of the priests, and the Levites, and the leaders of the families of the tribes of Israel in Jerusalem, in the rooms of the House of God.)

³⁰ And the priests and deacons took the weight of silver, and of gold, and of vessels, for to bear them into Jerusalem, into the house of our God. (And so the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, in order to carry them to Jerusalem, to the House of our God.)

³¹ Therefore we moved forth from the flood of Ahava, in the twelfth day of the first month, for to go into Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and delivered us from the hand of [the] enemy, and of the ambusher in the way. (And so we moved forth from the Ahava River, on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and delivered us from the hands of the enemy, and of the ambusher on the way.)

³² And we came to Jerusalem, and we dwelled there three days (and we stayed there three days).

³³ Forsooth in the fourth day the silver was yielded [up] under certain weight and number, and the gold, and the vessels, in the house of our God, by the number and weight of all things, by the hand of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, (the) priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas, and with them were Jozabad, the son of Joshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui, deacons; (And on the fourth day, the silver, and the gold, and the vessels were weighed in the House of our God, and given into the hands, or the care, of Meremoth the priest, the son of Uriah; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui;)

³⁴ and all the weight was described in that time. (and the number and the weight of all the things were listed at that time.)

³⁵ But also the sons of (the) transmigration, that came from (the) captivity, offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord God of Israel, twelve calves for all the people of Israel, ninety and six rams, seven and seventy lambs, twelve bucks of (the) goats for sin; all these were offered into burnt sacrifice to the Lord. (And the sons of them who had been carried off, and had now come back from the captivity, offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord God of Israel, yea, twelve calves for all the people of Israel, ninety-six rams, and seventy-seven lambs, and also twelve goat bucks for a sin offering; all these were offered as a burnt sacrifice to the Lord.)

³⁶ Forsooth they gave the commandments of the king to the princes, that were in the sight of the king, and to the dukes beyond the flood; and they raised up the people, and the house of God. (Then they gave the king’s orders to the leaders who served the king there, and to the governors of the province on the west side of the Euphrates River; and then they supported the people, and the House of God.)

9 And after that these things were fulfilled, the princes nighed to me, that is, to Ezra, and said, The people of Israel, and the priests, and deacons, be not separated from the peoples of (the) lands, and from [the] abominations of them, that is, of Canaanites, of Hittites, and of Perizzites, and of Jebusites, and of Ammonites, and of Moabites, and of Egyptians, and of Amorites. (And after that these things were finished, the leaders came to me, Ezra, and said, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not set themselves apart from the peoples of these lands, that is, from the Canaanites, and Hittites, and Perizzites, and Jebusites, and Ammonites, and Moabites, and Egyptians, and Amorites, and from all their abominations.)

² For they have taken of their daughters wives to themselves, and to their sons, and they have meddled holy seed with the peoples of (the) lands; also the hand of (the) princes and of (the) magistrates was the first in this trespassing. (For they have taken their daughters as wives for themselves, and for their sons as well, and they have mixed, or mingled, holy seed with the peoples of these lands; yea, the hands of the leaders and of the magistrates were the first in this trespass.)

³ And when I had heard this word, I rent my mantle and my coat, and I pulled away the hairs of mine head and of my beard, and I sat mourning. (And when I had heard this, I tore my cloak and my coat, and I pulled away the hairs of my head and of my beard, and I sat down mourning.)

⁴ Forsooth all that dreaded the word of (the) God of Israel came together to me, for the trespassing of them that were come from [the] captivity; and I sat sorry till to the sacrifice of eventide (And all who feared the word/who revered the word of the God of Israel came together to me, because of the trespassing of those who were come from the captivity; and I sat in despair until the evening sacrifice.)

⁵ And in the sacrifice of eventide I rose up from mine affliction, and after that I had rent my mantle and my coat (And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my affliction, and after that I had torn my cloak and my coat), I bowed my knees, and I spreaded abroad mine hands to the Lord my God,

⁶ and I said, My God, I am confounded and ashamed to raise up my face to thee, for our wickednesses be multiplied on mine head, and our trespasses have increased unto heaven, (and I said, My God, I am shamed and ashamed to raise up my face to thee, for our wickednesses be multiplied upon our heads, and our trespasses have increased unto the heavens,)

⁷ from the days of our fathers hitherto; and also we ourselves have sinned grievously unto this day, and for our wickednesses we, and our kings, and our priests be betaken into the hands of kings of heathen lands, both into sword, and into captivity, into raven, and into shame of cheer, as also in this day. (from the days of our forefathers unto now; for we ourselves have grievously sinned, and because of our wickednesses we, and our kings, and our priests, have been delivered into the hands of the kings of heathen lands, yea, unto the sword, and into captivity, and unto robbing, or pillage, and unto the shame of our face, as it is this very day.)

⁸ And now as at a little time and at a moment our prayer is made with the Lord our God, that [the] relics, or remnants, should be left to us, and that a little stake, that is, some setting, and stableness, should be given in his holy place, and that our God should lighten our eyes, and give to us a little life in our servage. (But now, for a little moment, the Lord our God hath been gracious to us, and a remnant hath escaped, and he hath given us a little stake, that is, some place of settling, and of stability, in this his Holy Place, and our God hath enlightened our eyes, and he hath given us a little life in the midst of our servitude, or our slavery.)

⁹ For we be servants; and our God forsook us not in our servage/in our thralldom; and he bowed down mercy upon us before the king(s) of Persia, that he should give life to us, and (so we could) enhance the house of our God, and that he should build (again) the wildernesses thereof, or the desolate things thereof, and give to us hope, or mercy, in Judah and in Jerusalem. (For we be slaves; but our God hath not left us in our servitude, or our slavery; but he bowed down mercy upon us from the kings of Persia, to give life to us, so that we could rebuild the House of our God, and repair its ruins, and so give us a wall of defence, or a safe place, here in Judah and in Jerusalem.)

¹⁰ And now, Lord our God, what shall we say after these things? For we have forsaken thy commandments,

¹¹ which thou commandedest in the hand of thy servants (the) prophets, and saidest, The land, to which ye shall enter, to hold it in possession, is an unclean land, by the uncleanness of peoples, and of other lands, in the abominations of them, that (have) filled it with their defouling, from the mouth till to the mouth. (which thou commandedest by thy servants the prophets, and saidest, The land, to which ye shall enter to have for a possession, is an unclean land, because of the uncleanness and the abominations of the people there, from other lands, who have filled it with their defiling, from one end to the other.)

¹² Now therefore, ye Jews, give ye not your daughters to their sons, nor take ye their daughters to your sons; nor seek ye the peace of them, nor their prosperity unto without end; that ye be comforted, and eat the good things, that be of the earth, and that ye have your sons (as) your heirs, unto without end (so that ye be strengthened, and eat the good things of the land, and that ye leave it for an inheritance to your sons forevermore).

¹³ And after all things, or dis-eases, that came upon us in our worst works, and in our great trespass, thou, our God, hast delivered us from our wickedness, and hast given health to us, as it is today, (And though much suffering came upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, thou, our God, hast not punished us as we deserved, but thou hast rescued us, or hast saved us, from our wickedness, and hast given us the deliverance, which we have today,)

¹⁴ that we should not be turned away from thee, and make void thy commandments, and that we should not join matrimonies with the peoples of these abominations. Whether thou art wroth to us till to the ending, that thou shouldest not leave to us remnants, that is, a few men, and health? (so now should we turn away from thee, and make void thy commandments, and join matrimonies with the peoples of these abominations? Nay! For wouldest thou not then be angry with us unto the end, so that thou wouldest leave no remnant, that is, even a few people, who would survive?)

¹⁵ Lord God of Israel, thou art just; for we be left, that should be saved, as in this day, lo! we be before thee in our sin; for men may not stand before thee on this thing. (Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous; we who be left, be but a remnant, that thou hast let survive, unto this day; lo! we be before thee in our sin; but because of it we cannot stand before thee.)

10 Therefore while Ezra prayed so, and besought God, and wept, and lay (down) before the temple of God, a full great company of Israel (a very great crowd of Israelites), of men, and of women, and of children, was gathered together to him; and the people wept with much weeping.

² And Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered, and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have wedded wives, alien women, of the peoples of the land. And now, for penance is in Israel on this thing, (And Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered, and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have wedded wives, foreign women, of the peoples of the land. And now, for there is penance in Israel for this thing,)

³ make we (a) bond of peace with the Lord our God, and cast we away all our alien wives, and them that be born of those wives, by the will of the Lord; and of them that dread the commandment of our God, be it done by the law. (let us make a covenant with the Lord our God to cast away, that is, to send away, all our foreign wives, and those who were born of those wives, according to thy counsel, my lord, and the counsel of those who fear the command of our God/who revere the command of our God; yea, let it be done according to the Law.)

⁴ Rise thou up, it pertaineth to thee to deem, and we shall be with thee; be thou comforted, and do thus. (Rise thou up, it pertaineth to thee to judge this, and we shall be with thee; be thou strengthened, and do thus.)

⁵ Then Ezra rose up, and charged greatly the princes of (the) priests, and deacons, and all Israel, to do after this word; and they swore thereto. (Then Ezra rose up, and greatly charged the leaders of the priests, and the Levites, and all the Israelites, to do this thing; and they swore that they would do it.)

⁶ And Ezra rose up before the house of God, and he went to the bed [place] of Johanan, the son of Eliashib, and he entered [in] thither; he ate not bread, nor drank water; for he bewailed the trespassing of them, that were come from the captivity.

⁷ And a voice of them was sent into Judah and Jerusalem (And so the word was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem), to all the sons of (the) captivity, that they should be gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁸ and [that] each man that cometh not thither (with)in three days, by the counsel of the princes and of [the] elder men, all his chattel shall be taken away from him, and he shall be cast away from the company of (the) transmigration (and he shall be cast out, or sent away, from those who have returned from the captivity).

⁹ Therefore all the men of Judah and of Benjamin came together into Jerusalem in three days; that is the ninth month, in the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of God’s house, and trembled for (the) sin, and for (the) rain. (And so all the men of Judah and of Benjamin came together in Jerusalem within the three days; that was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the square of God’s House, that is, in the Temple Square, and trembled because of the sin, and because of the rain.)

¹⁰ And Ezra, the priest, rose up, and said to them, Ye have trespassed, and ye have wedded wives, alien women, that ye should lay to, or increase, upon the trespass of Israel. (And Ezra, the priest, rose up, and said to them, Ye have trespassed, and ye have wedded wives, foreign women, and so ye have increased Israel’s trespass, or sin.)

¹¹ Now therefore give ye acknowledging to the Lord God of our fathers, and do ye his pleasance, and be ye separated from the peoples of the land, and from your alien wives. (And so now make ye a confession to the Lord God of our fathers, and do ye his pleasure, or his will, and be ye separated from the peoples of the land, and from all your foreign wives.)

¹² And all the multitude answered, and said with [a] great voice, By thy word to us, so be it done.

¹³ Nevertheless for the people is much, and the time of rain is, and we suffer not to stand withoutforth, and it is not [the] work of one day, neither of twain; for we have sinned greatly in this word; (But for the people be many, and it is the time of much rain, and we be not able to stand here outside, and this is not the work of one day, nor of two; for we have greatly sinned in this thing;)

¹⁴ (let) princes be ordained in all the multitude, and (let) all men in our cities, that have wedded alien wives, come in times ordained, and with them come the elder men, by city and city, and the judges of the people, till the wrath of our God be turned away from us upon this sin. (let the leaders come to all the multitude, and let all the men in our cities, who have wedded foreign wives, come in the time ordained, and the elders come with them, by city and city, and the judges of the people, until the anger of our God be turned away from us for this sin.)

¹⁵ Therefore Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah, the son of Tikvah, stood upon this thing; and Meshullam, and Shabbethai, deacons, helped them. (And so only Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah, the son of Tikvah, stood against this; and Meshullam, and Shabbethai, a Levite, supported them.)

¹⁶ And the sons of (the) transmigration did so. And Ezra, the priest, and the men, that were princes of families, went into the houses of their fathers, and all men by their names; and they sat in the first day of the tenth month, for to inquire (of) the thing. (And so the sons of the captivity did this. And Ezra, the priest, selected the men, from those who were the leaders of the families of their tribes, all of them by their names; and they began on the first day of the tenth month, to inquire into the matter.)

¹⁷ And all men were ended, that is, the causes of all men were determined, that had wedded alien wives, till to the first day of the first month. (And they finished their inquiry, concerning all the men who had wedded foreign wives, by the first day of the first month of the new year.)

¹⁸ And there were found of the sons of priests, that had wedded alien wives; of the sons of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. (And there were found of the sons of the priests, who had wedded foreign wives; of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his kinsmen, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.)

¹⁹ And they gave their hands, that is, (they) confirmed with a solemn oath, that they should cast out their wives, and that they should offer for their trespass a ram of [the] sheep. (And they gave their hands, that is, they confirmed with a solemn pledge, that they would cast out, or send away, their wives, and that they would offer a ram of the sheep for their trespass.)

²⁰ And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.

²¹ And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

²² And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, and Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ And of the sons of deacons (And of the sons of the Levites); Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah; he is called Kelita; Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ And of [the] singers, Eliashib; and of [the] porters, Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. (And of the singers, Eliashib; and of the guards, or the doorkeepers, Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.)

²⁵ And of Israel, of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

²⁶ And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.

²⁷ And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

²⁸ And of the sons of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

²⁹ And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, and Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.

³⁰ And of the sons of Pahath; Moab, Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, and Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. (And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, and Maaseiah, Mattaniah, and Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.)

³¹ And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

³³ And of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

³⁴ Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

³⁵ Benaiah, and Bedeiah, and Chelluh,

³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, and Eliashib,

³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

³⁸ and Bani, and Binnui, and Shimei,

³⁹ and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

⁴¹ Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

⁴³ Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, Joel, and Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these had taken alien, or heathen, wives, and of them were women, that had bore children. (All these had taken foreign wives, and some of these women had brought forth children.)