Old/New Testament
Interceding for Unfaithful Remnant
9 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me to say: “The people of Israel, the kohanim and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands who practice detestable things just like the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons and have mingled the holy seed with the peoples of the lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront in this unfaithful act.”
3 When I heard this report, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled out some of the hair from my head and from my beard. Then I sat down devastated. 4 Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered themselves around me because of the unfaithful act of the exiles. Devastated, I sat there until the evening offering.
5 At the time of the evening offering, I rose up from my self-abasement with my garment and robe torn, then I bowed down on my knees and spread out my hands to Adonai my God. 6 I prayed, “O my God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God! For our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, our kings and our kohanim have been subjected to the sword, to captivity, to plunder and to humiliation at the hand of the kings of the lands, as it is today.
8 “But now for a brief moment Adonai our God has shown us favor in leaving us a remnant and giving us as a peg in His holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes and has given us a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, reviving us in order to restore the House of our God, to raise up its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 “So now, our God, what should we say after this? For we have forsaken Your mitzvot 11 that You commanded through Your servants the prophets saying, ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the peoples of the lands. Through their abominations, they have filled it from one end to the other with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek their shalom or their welfare, so that you may be strong, eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.’
13 “After everything that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt—for You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and given us a remnant such as this— 14 shall we once again break Your mitzvot and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable actions as these? Would You not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? 15 Adonai, God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left this day as a remnant. Behold, here we are before You in our guilt; because of it no one can stand before You.”
Putting Away Pagan Wives
10 While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and prostrating himself before the House of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. The people also wept very bitterly. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. 3 So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Torah. 4 Arise! For this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and do it!”
5 So Ezra rose up and made the leading kohanim, the Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do according to this word; and they took the oath. 6 Then Ezra got up from before the House of God and went into the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no bread and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 A proclamation was then circulated throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all of the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem. 8 Everyone who did not come within three days, would forfeit all his property according to the counsel of the officials and the elders, and would himself be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
9 So within three days all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the plaza before the House of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rain. 10 Then Ezra the kohen stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and taken foreign wives, increasing the guilt of Israel. 11 So now, give praise to Adonai, 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 and said with a loud voice, “Yes, we will do just as you have said. [a] 13 However, there are many people here and it is the rainy season, and we are not able to stand outside. Besides, this task cannot be resolved in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. 14 Let our leaders stand for the whole assembly. Let everyone in our cities who has married a foreign woman come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each city and its judges, until the burning wrath of our God is turned back from us in this matter.” 15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah stood against this, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite. 16 So the exiles did as proposed. Ezra the kohen, set apart men who were patriarchal leaders of their fathers’ households each designated by name. So they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to consider the matter, 17 and they were finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women on the first day of the first month.
18 Among the sons of the kohanim it was found that the following had married foreign women: The sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. 19 They all gave their hands in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt, they offered a ram of the flock as a guilt offering.
20 Also from the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 From the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 From the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.
23 From the Levites:
Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah—he is Kelita—Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer.
24 From the singers: Eliashib.
From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 Also from Israel:
From the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah and Benaiah.
26 From the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 From the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 From the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai.
29 From the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Ramoth.
30 From the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh.
31 From the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah.
33 From the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei.
34 From the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhu, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasai, 38 Bani, Binnui, Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah and Joseph.
43 From the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah.
44 All these had taken foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.
When Will Yeshua Restore the Kingdom?
1 I wrote the first volume, Theophilus, about all that Yeshua began to do and teach— 2 up to the day He was taken up, after He had given orders by the Ruach ha-Kodesh to the emissaries He had chosen. 3 To them He showed Himself to be alive after His suffering through many convincing proofs, appearing to them for forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 Now while staying with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father promised—which, He said, “you heard from Me. 5 For John immersed with water, but you will be immersed in the Ruach ha-Kodesh not many days from now.”
6 So when they gathered together, they asked Him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
7 He said to them, “It is not your place to know the times or seasons which the Father has placed under His own control. 8 But you will receive power when the Ruach ha-Kodesh has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and through all Judah, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
9 After saying all this—while they were watching—He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 While they were staring into heaven as He went up, suddenly two men stood with them in white clothing. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you keep standing here staring into heaven? This Yeshua, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Appointing a New Emissary
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives[a] (which is near Jerusalem, a Shabbat day’s journey[b]). 13 When they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying—Peter and John and Jacob and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; Jacob son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judah son of Jacob. 14 All these with one mind were continuing together in prayer—along with the women and Miriam, Yeshua’s mother, and His brothers.
15 In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (the number of names all together was about a hundred and twenty) and said, 16 “Brothers,[c] the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Ruach ha-Kodesh foretold by the mouth of David, concerning Judah—who became a guide to those who seized Yeshua. 17 For he was counted among us and received his share of this office.” 18 (Now this man Judah bought a field with the reward of his wickedness. Falling headfirst, he burst open in the middle and his intestines splattered out. 19 And it became known to all those living in Jerusalem, so in their own language that field was called Akeldama[d]—that is, ‘Field of Blood.’) 20 For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
‘Let his dwelling place become desolate,
and let there be no one living in it’[e]
and ‘Let another take his position.’[f]
21 “Therefore one of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Yeshua went in and out among us— 22 beginning with His immersion by John until the day He was taken up from us—must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two—Joseph, called Barsabbas (also called Justus), and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who knows the hearts of all men, show us which of these two You have chosen 25 to take the position in this office as emissary, from which Judah turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was added to the eleven emissaries.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.