Ezra 10
1 While I was kneeling down in front of the temple and praying and crying, I was confessing [the sins that the Israeli people had committed]. Many people, men and women and children, gathered around me and also cried very much.
As Ezra was praying and confessing sins, weeping and falling down on his face before God's Temple, a very large crowd of Israelites, men, women, and children, gathered around him. The people were weeping bitterly as well.
2 Then Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel from the clan of Elam, said this to me: “We have disobeyed God. [Some of] us have married women who are not Israelis. But we can still confidently expect [Yahweh to be merciful to] us Israeli people.
Shecaniah, son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “Yes, we have been unfaithful to our God because we have married foreign women from the people of the land. But even so there is still hope for Israel over this.
3 We will do what you, and the others who have an awesome respect for what our God has commanded, tell us to do. We will do what God told us in his laws. We will make an agreement with our God, saying that we will divorce our wives who are not Israelis, and we will send them away with their children.
Let us make a solemn agreement right now before our God that we will send away all the foreign wives and their children. We will follow the directions given by you and those who respect the instructions of our God, carried out according to the Law.
4 (It is your responsibility to/Because you are our leader, you must) [tell us what to do]. So get up, and be courageous, and do [what is necessary]. We will (support you/tell people to do what you say).”
Take action! It's your responsibility. We are with you. Be brave and do it!”
5 So I stood up and demanded that the leaders of the priests, the [other] descendants of Levi, and all [the other] Israeli people solemnly declare that they would do what Shecaniah said that they should do. So they all solemnly promised to do that.
So Ezra stood up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all the Israelites present take an oath to act on what had just been said. They all took the oath.
6 Then I went away from the front of the temple and went to the room where Jehohanan lived. I stayed there that night, but I did not eat or drink anything. I was still sad because some of the Israelis who had returned [from Babylonia] had not faithfully obeyed [God’s laws].
Then Ezra left them in front of God's Temple, and went to the room of Jehohanan, son of Eliashib. During the time he stayed there, he didn't eat or drink anything, because he was still mourning the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 Then we sent a message to all [the people in] Jerusalem and [in other towns in] Judah, saying that all those who had returned [from Babylonia] should come to Jerusalem immediately.
Then a proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should assemble in Jerusalem.
8 We said that if any of them did not arrive within three days, the leaders of the people would order that all the property of those people would be taken from them, and that they would no longer be considered to belong to the Israeli people; [they would be considered to be foreigners].
Anyone who did not come within three days would have all their property confiscated, and would be banned from the assembly of the exiles. This was the decision of the leaders and elders.
9 So within three days, on December 19, all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. They were there, sitting in the courtyard in front of the temple. They were trembling because it was raining hard and because they were worried [that they would be punished for what they had done].
Within three days, everyone from Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square beside God's Temple, shivering because of this issue and also because of the heavy rain.
10 Then I stood up and said to them, “[Some of] you men have committed a very bad sin. You have married women who are not Israelis. By doing that, you have made us Israeli people more guilty [than we were before].
Ezra the priest stood up and told them, “You have committed sin by marrying foreign women, making Israel's guilt even worse.
11 So now you must confess to Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors [worshiped/belonged to], the sin which you have committed, and you must do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of other nations and from the women from those nations whom you have married.”
Now you must confess your sin to the Lord, the God of your forefathers, and do what he requires. Sever your connections with the people of the land and your foreign wives.”
12 The whole group answered, shouting loudly, “Yes, what you have said is right! We will do what you have said.”
The whole assembly answered in a loud voice: “We agree, and we promise to do as you say!
13 But then [one of] them said, “But we are a very large group, and it is raining hard. Also, there are many of us who have committed this bad sin. This is something that we cannot (take care of/handle) in one or two days, and we cannot stand here in this rain.
But there are a lot of people here, and it's pouring with rain. We can't stay outside. More to the point, this isn't something that can be fixed in one or two days, for we have sinned extremely seriously in this.
14 So allow our leaders to decide for all of us what we should do. Tell everyone who has married a woman who is not Israeli to come at a time that you decide. They should come with the elders and judges from each city. If we do that, our God will stop being angry with us [because of what we have done].”
Let our leaders act on behalf of the whole assembly. Then let every man in each of our towns who has married a foreign woman be given an appointment to come and meet, together with the elders and judges of that town, until our God is no longer angry with us over this.”
15 Jonathan the son of Asahel, Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah, Meshullam, and Shabbethai, a descendant of Levi, were the only ones who objected to this.
The only ones to oppose this were Jonathan, son of Asahel, and Jahzeiah, son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite.
16 All the others who had returned from Babylonia said that they would do it. So I chose leaders of each of the clans, and I wrote down their names. On December 29, these men came and sat down to investigate the matter.
So this what the exiles did, selecting Ezra the priest and family leaders, according to their family divisions, all of them specifically named. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to begin the inquiry,
17 By March 27 of the next year they finished determining which men had married women who were not Israelis.
and by the first day of the first month they had finished handling all the cases of men who had married foreign women.
18 This is a list of the names of the priests who had married non-Israeli women, and the clans to which they belonged. From the clan of Jeshua and his brothers, who were sons of Jehozadak, there were Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
Among the descendants of the priests, the following had married foreign women: from the sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brothers Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19 They solemnly promised to divorce their wives, and they each sacrificed a ram to be an offering [to atone] for their sins.
They vowed to send their wives away, and they presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering for their guilt.
20 From the clan of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah.
From the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 From the clan of Harim there were Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
From the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 From the clan of Pashhur there were Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
From the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 The [other] descendants of Levi [who had married non-Israeli women] were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (whose other name was Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (or Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 There was Eliashib the musician. From the temple guards there were Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
Among the singers: Eliashib. Among the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 This is a list of the names of the other Israelis who had married foreign wives: From the clan of Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, and Benaiah.
Among the Israelites: From the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, and Benaiah.
26 From the clan of Elam there were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
From the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 From the clan of Zattu there were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
From the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 From the clan of Bebai there were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
From the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29 From the clan of Bani there were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
From the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
30 From the clan of Pahath-Moab there were Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
From the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
31 From the clan of Harim there were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
From the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
33 From the clan of Hashum there were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
From the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34 From the clan of Bigvai there were Maadai, Amram, Uel,
From the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,
35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,
Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,
36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
38 From the clan of Binnui there were Shimei,
From the sons of Binnui: Shimei,
39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
40 Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,
Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,
42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
43 From the clan of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
From the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 Each of those men had married a woman who was not an Israeli. [But immediately] they divorced those women and sent them and their children away.
All of these men listed had married foreign women. They divorced them and sent them away with their children.
