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.

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

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.

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, [one] of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

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.

Now therefore 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 commandment of our God; and let it be done 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).”

Arise; for [this] matter [belongeth] unto thee: we also [will be] with thee: be of good courage, 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.

Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.

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 rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and [when] he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

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.

And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto 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].

And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.

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].

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It [was] the ninth month, on the twentieth [day] of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of [this] matter, and for the great 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].

And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.

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 therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.

12 The whole group answered, shouting loudly, “Yes, what you have said is right! We will do what you have said.”

Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.

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 the people [are] many, and [it is] a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither [is this] a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.

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 now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.

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.

Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this [matter: ] and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

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.

And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, [with] certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by [their] names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

17 By March 27 of the next year they finished determining which men had married women who were not Israelis.

And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.

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.

And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: [namely], of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and 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.

And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and [being] guilty, [they offered] a ram of the flock for their trespass.

20 From the clan of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah.

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

21 From the clan of Harim there were Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

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

22 From the clan of Pashhur there were Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, 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.

Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same [is] Kelita, ) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

24 There was Eliashib the musician. From the temple guards there were Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and 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.

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

26 From the clan of Elam there were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

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

27 From the clan of Zattu there were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

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

28 From the clan of Bebai there were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, [and] Athlai.

29 From the clan of Bani there were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.

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

30 From the clan of Pahath-Moab there were Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

And of the sons of Pahath-moab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

31 From the clan of Harim there were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

And [of] the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, 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.

Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, [and] Shimei.

34 From the clan of Bigvai there were Maadai, Amram, Uel,

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

35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,

Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,

36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

38 From the clan of Binnui there were Shimei,

And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,

And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

40 Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,

Azareel, and 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.

Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, 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 these had taken strange wives: and [some] of them had wives by whom they had children.