Ezra 9
1 After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
When these things were done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the other lands and their abominations: Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
2 Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”
For they have taken some of their daughters and sons, and have mixed the holy people with the people of other lands, and the officials and leaders have been first in this faithlessness.”
3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.
When I heard this, I tore apart my clothing and robe and pulled out hair from my head and beard, and I sat down, devastated.
4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, while I sat there in horror until the evening offering.
All those who trembled at the words of the God of Israel about this faithlessness gathered to me while I was sitting ashamed until the evening offering.
5 At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
But at the evening offering I arose from my position of humiliation in my torn clothes and robe, and knelt down and spread my hands to Yahweh my God.
6 and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
I said, “My God, I am ashamed and disgraced to raise my face to you, for our iniquities increase over our head, and our guilt grows to the heavens.
7 From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the earth and put to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation, as we are this day.
From the days of our ancestors until now we have been in great guilt. In our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests were given into the hand of kings of this world, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder and ashamed faces, as we are today.
8 But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve for us a remnant and to give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our bondage, our God has given us new life and light to our eyes.
Yet now for a short time, mercy from Yahweh our God has come to leave us a few survivors and to give us a foothold in his holy place. This was for our God to enlighten our eyes and to give us a little relief in our slavery.
9 Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
For we are slaves, but our God has not forgotten us but has extended covenant faithfulness to us. He has done this in the sight of the king of Persia in order to give us new strength, so we could rebuild our God's house and raise its ruins. He did this so that he could give us a wall of safety in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 And now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commandments
But now, our God, what can we say after this? We have forgotten your commands,
11 that You gave through Your servants the prophets, saying: ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the impurity of its peoples and the abominations with which they have filled it from end to end.
the commands that you gave to your servants the prophets, when you said, “This land that you are entering to possess is an unclean land. It is contaminated by the people of the lands with their abominations. They have filled it from one end to the other with their uncleanness.
12 Now, therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, leaving it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’
So now, do not give your daughters to their sons; do not take their daughters for your sons, and do not seek their ongoing peace and welfare, so that you will be strong and eat the good of the land, so you will cause your children to possess it for all time.”
13 After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),
Yet after everything that came on us for our evil practices and our great guilt—since you, our God, have held back what our iniquities deserve and left us survivors—
14 shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Would You not become so angry with us as to wipe us out, leaving no remnant or survivor?
should we again break your commandments and make mixed marriages with these abominable people? Will you not be angry and annihilate us so there will be no one left, no one to escape?
15 O LORD, God of Israel, You are righteous! For we remain this day as a remnant. Here we are before You in our guilt, though because of it no one can stand before You.”
Yahweh, God of Israel, you are righteous, for we have remained as a few survivors at this day. Look! We are here before you in our guilt, for there is no one who can stand before you because of this.
