Ezra 8:1‑10:44• 1And these are the chief fathers, and their genealogy, who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.
2Of the children of Phinehas, Gershom; of the children of Ithamar, Daniel; of the children of David, Hattush;
3of the children of Shecaniah, of the children of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty.
4Of the children of Pahath-Moab, Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.
5Of the children of Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.
6And of the children of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.
7And of the children of Elam, Isaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.
8And of the children of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males.
9Of the children of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.
10And of the children of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males.
11And of the children of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males.
12And of the children of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males.
13And of the children of Adonikam, the last ones, whose names are these: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males.
14And of the children of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
15And I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days; and I surveyed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.
16And I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men, and for Joiarib and for Elnathan, men of understanding.
17And I gave them a commission to Iddo the chief, at the place Casiphia, and I put words in their mouths to say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.
18And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely, Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;
19and Hashabiah, and with him Isaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
20and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were expressed by name.
21And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
22For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way; for we had spoken to the king saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his anger is against all them that forsake him.
23And we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was entreated of us.
24And I separated twelve of the chiefs of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
25and I weighed to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the heave-offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counsellors and his princes, and all Israel present, had offered.
26And I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver; and silver vessels a hundred talents, and of gold a hundred talents;
27and twenty basons of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of shining copper, precious as gold.
28And I said to them, Ye are holy unto Jehovah; the vessels also are holy; and the silver and the gold is a voluntary offering to Jehovah the God of your fathers.
29Watch and keep them until ye weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the chiefs of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah.
30And the priests and the Levites received by weight the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
31And we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.
32And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.
33And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Urijah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites:
34the whole by number and by weight; and all the weight was written down at that time.
35The children of those that had been carried away, who had come out of the captivity, presented burnt-offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all for a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
36And they delivered the king's edicts to the king's satraps, and to the governors on this side the river. And they furthered the people and the house of God.
1Now when these things were completed, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites;
2for they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and have mingled the holy seed with the peoples of the lands; and the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this unfaithfulness.
3And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down overwhelmed.
4Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the unfaithfulness of those that had been carried away; and I sat overwhelmed until the evening oblation.
5And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation; and with my mantle and my garment rent, I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Jehovah my God,
6and said: O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up to the heavens.
7Since the days of our fathers, we have been in great trespass to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, our priests, have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, and to captivity, and to spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
8And now for a little space there hath been favour from Jehovah our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
9For we are bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us before the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God and to repair the ruins thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10And now, what shall we say, our God, after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
11which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the filthiness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations with which they have filled it from one end to another through their uncleanness.
12Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity for ever; that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.
13And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this,
14should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples of these abominations? wouldest thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor any to escape?
15Jehovah, God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before thee in our trespasses; for there is no standing before thee because of this.
1And while Ezra prayed, and made confession, weeping and falling down before the house of God, there were gathered to him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children; for the people wept very much.
2And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have acted unfaithfully toward our God, and have taken foreign wives of the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.
3And now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandments of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
4Arise, for this matter is incumbent on thee, and we will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.
5Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, of the Levites, and of all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. And they swore.
6And Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came thither, he ate no bread and drank no water; for he mourned because of the unfaithfulness of them that had been carried away.
7And they made proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;
8and that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be confiscated, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
9Then were all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered together at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and all the people sat in the open space of the house of God, trembling because of the matter, and because of the pouring rain.
10And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, Ye have acted unfaithfully, and have taken foreign wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.
11And now make confession to Jehovah the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign wives.
12And the whole congregation answered and said with a loud voice, Yes, it is for us to do according to thy words.
13But the people are many, and it is a time of pouring rain, and it is not possible to stand without: neither is this a work for one day or two; for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.
14Let now our princes, while this matter is going on, stand for all the congregation, and let all those that have taken foreign wives in our cities come at the appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce anger of our God be turned from us.
15Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this; and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.
16And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest and certain of the chief fathers were separated according to their fathers' houses, and all of them expressed by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.
17And they ended with all the men that had taken foreign wives by the first day of the first month.
18And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken foreign wives, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren: Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19And they gave their hand to send away their wives; and they offered a ram of the flock, as trespass-offering for their guilt.
20And of the children of Immer: Hanani, and Zebadiah.
21And of the children of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22And of the children of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23And of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24And of the singers: Eliashib. And of the doorkeepers: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.
25And of Israel; of the children of Parosh: Ramiah, and Jizzijah, and Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.
26And of the children of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27And of the children of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.
28And of the children of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai.
29And of the children of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.
30And of the children of Pahath-Moab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.
31And the children of Harim: Eliezer, Jishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Simeon,
32Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah.
33Of the children of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei.
34Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel,
35Benaiah, Bediah, Cheluhu,
36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
37Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasai,
38and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,
39and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,
40Machnadbai, Shashai, Sharai,
41Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,
42Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.
43Of the children of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, and Joel, Benaiah.
44All these had taken foreign wives; and there were among them wives who had had children. (Ezra 8:1‑10:44)