Ezra 10 (ARST) · Opened

1Ezra prostrated himself on the ground in front of the temple as he cried and prayed{ to God}. He was confessing{ to God the sins that the people had committed}. While he was doing that, a very large crowd of Israelites gathered around him, consisting of men, women, and children. They all cried very, very much{ because they had sinned against God}.While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.

2Then Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel from the clan of Elam, spoke. He said this to Ezra:“We have disobeyed our God. Some of us have married women who are not Israelites. They come from the other people groups that live around us. But we can still hope{ that Yahweh will be merciful to} us Israelite people.Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel.

3Here is what I suggest. We should do what God told us to do in his laws. We should make an agreement with our God that we will divorce our foreign wives and send them away with their children. We will do everything according to what you, sir, and the others who greatly respect what our God has commanded, tell us to do.So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.

4Since you are our leader, get going, and be courageous, and do{ what is necessary to fix this problem}. We will do whatever you say.”Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we will support you. Be strong and take action!”

5So Ezra acted{ to fix the problem}. He demanded that all of the Israelite people, including the leaders of the priests and the Levites, solemnly declare that they would do what Shekaniah said that they should do. So they all solemnly promised{ to do that}.So Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said. And they took the oath.

6Then Ezra went away from in front of the temple and went to the room where Jehohanan the grandson of Eliashib lived. Ezra continued to grieve because some of the Israelites who had returned from Babylonia had not faithfully obeyed God’ s laws. So while he was there, he did not eat or drink anything.Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. And while he stayed there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

7Then the leaders sent a message to all the people in the province of Judan and the city of Jerusalem. They told them that all the Jews who had returned from Babylonia had to come to Jerusalem immediately.And a proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem.

8The leaders announced the following penalties for anyone who did not arrive within three days. They would take away all the property belonging to that person, and they would banish that person from the community of Israelites.Whoever failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.

9So within three days, by the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. They were 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.So within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.

10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them,“Some of you have sinned very badly{ against God}. Specifically, you have married women who are not Israelites. By doing that, you have made us Israelite people more guilty than we were before.Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel.

11So now, confess your sin to Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors worshiped, and do what he commands.{ That is,} separate yourselves from the people of other nations by divorcing your foreign wives.”Now, therefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”

12The whole group answered, shouting loudly,“Yes, we must do what you have said.”And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say!

13{ Then one of them said,}“But we are a very large group, and it is raining hard. We cannot continue to stand outside in this rain. Also, since many of us have committed this sin, it will take a long time to make things right again.But there are many people here, and it is the rainy season. We are not able to stay out in the open. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.

14So please allow our leaders to decide what we should all do. Tell everyone in each city who has married a woman who is not an Israelite to come at a time that you decide. They should each come with the elders and judges from their own city. If we do that, our God will stop being angry with us because of what we have done.”Let our leaders represent the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.”

15{ Within the crowd,} Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah said that they disagreed with this plan. Then Meshullam and Shabbethai, a descendant of Levi, said that they agreed with Jonathan and Jahzeiah.(Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this plan.)

16But{ they were the only ones who opposed the plan; all of} the others who had returned from Babylonia said that they would do it. So Ezra the priest chose men who were leaders from each of the clans and wrote down their names. On the first day of the tenth month these men met to investigate the matter.So the exiles did as proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, each of them identified by name, to represent their families. On the first day of the tenth month they launched the investigation,

17By the first day of the first month{ of the next year} they had finished determining which men had married women who were not Israelites.and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.

18They determined that some of the descendants of the priests had married foreign women. These included some descendants of Joshua the son of Jozadak and of his brothers. Their names were Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

19They solemnly promised to divorce their wives and they each offered a ram as a sacrifice to atone for their sins.They pledged to send their wives away, and for their guilt they presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.

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

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

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

23The Levites who had married foreign women were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah(whose other name was Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

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

25This is a list of the names of the other Israelites{ who had married foreign wives}: In the clan of Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.And among the other Israelites, from the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah.

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

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

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

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

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

31In the clan of Harim there were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,From the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

32Benjamin, Malluk, and Shemariah.Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

33In the clan of Hashum there were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.From the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

34In the clan of Bani there were Maadai, Amram, Uel,From the descendants of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,

35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi,

36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

37Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

38In the clan of Binnui there were Shimei,From the descendants of Binnui: Shimei,

39Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,

40Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai,Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

41Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,

42Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

43In the clan of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.And from the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

44All of those men had married women who were not Israelites. Some of those women had borne children{, so when the men sent the women away, they also sent their children with them}.All these men had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.

Ezra 10

You’ve read Ezra 10

Go Deeper

Ezra 10

You’ve read Ezra 10

Go Deeper