Ezra 9
1 Then, after these things were completed, the leaders came to me, saying: “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not been separated from the peoples of the lands and from their abominations, especially those of the Canaanites, and Hittites, and Perizzites, and Jebusites, and Ammonites, and Moabites, and Egyptians, and Amorites.
Now after these things were done, the captains came to me and said, The people of Israel and the priests and Levites have not kept themselves separate from the people of the lands, but have taken part in the disgusting ways of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
2 For they have taken from their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and they have mixed a holy lineage with the peoples of the lands. And even the hand of the leaders and the magistrates has been first in this transgression.”
For they have taken their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the peoples of the lands; and in fact the captains and rulers have been the first to do this evil.
3 And when I had heard this word, I tore my cloak and my tunic, and I pulled out the hairs of my head and beard, and I sat in mourning.
And hearing this, with signs of grief and pulling out the hair of my head and my chin, I took my seat on the earth deeply troubled.
4 Then all those who feared the word of the God of Israel gathered to me, because of the transgression of those who had arrived from the captivity. And I sat in sorrow, until the evening sacrifice.
Then everyone who went in fear of the words of the God of Israel, because of the sin of those who had come back, came together to me; and I kept where I was, overcome with grief, till the evening offering.
5 And at the evening sacrifice, I rose up from my affliction, and, having torn my cloak and my tunic, I fell to my knees, and I reached out my hands to the Lord, my God.
And at the evening offering, having made myself low before God, I got up, and with signs of grief, falling down on my knees, with my hands stretched out to the Lord my God,
6 And I said: “My God, I am confounded and ashamed to lift up my face to you. For our iniquities have been multiplied over our heads, and our offenses have increased, even up to heaven,
I said, O my God, shame keeps me from lifting up my face to you, my God: for our sins are increased higher than our heads and our evil-doing has come up to heaven.
7 from the days of our fathers. But also, we ourselves have sinned gravely, even to this day. And for our iniquities, we ourselves, and our kings and our priests, have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the lands, and to the sword, and to captivity, and to plunder, and to confusion of face, just as it is also in this day.
From the days of our fathers till this day we have been great sinners; and for our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been given up into the hands of the kings of the lands, to the sword and to prison and to loss of goods and to shame of face, as it is this day.
8 And now, to a small extent and for a moment, our petition has been made with the Lord our God, so that they may leave us a remnant, and so that a secure place in his holy land may be given to us, and so that our God may illuminate our eyes, and may give us a little life in our servitude.
And now for a little time grace has come to us from the Lord our God, to let a small band of us get free and to give us a nail in his holy place, so that our God may give light to our eyes and a measure of new life in our prison chains.
9 For we are servants, yet in our servitude our God has not forsaken us, but he has inclined mercy upon us in the sight of the king of the Persians, so that he may give us life, and may raise up the house of our God, and repair its desolations, and give us a hedge in Judah and Jerusalem.
For we are servants; but our God has not been turned away from us in our prison, but has had mercy on us before the eyes of the kings of Persia, to give us new strength to put up again the house of our God and to make fair its waste places, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 And now, our God, what should we say after these things? For we abandoned your commandments,
And now, O our God, what are we to say after this? for we have not kept your laws,
11 which you instructed by the hand of your servants, the prophets, saying: ‘The land, which you shall enter so that you may possess it, is an unclean land, due to the uncleanness of the peoples and of the other lands, the abominations of those who have filled it, from mouth to mouth, with their filth.’
Which you gave to your servants the prophets, saying, The land into which you are going, to take it for a heritage, is an unclean land, because of the evil lives of the peoples of the land and their disgusting ways, which have made the land unclean from end to end.
12 Now therefore, you should not give your daughters to their sons, nor should you receive their daughters for your sons. And you should not seek their peace, nor their prosperity, even forever. So shall you be strengthened, and so shall you eat the good things of the land, and have your sons as your heirs, even for all time.
So now do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or do anything for their peace or well-being for ever; so that you may be strong, living on the good of the land, and handing it on to your children for a heritage for ever.
13 And after all that has happened to us because of our very wicked works and our great offense, you, our God, have freed us from our iniquity, and you have given us salvation, just as it is this day,
And after everything which has come on us because of our evil-doing and our great sin, and seeing that the punishment which you, O God, have given us, is less than the measure of our sins, and that you have kept from death those of us who are here;
14 so that we would not turn away and make your commandments void, and so that we would not unite in marriage with the peoples of these abominations. Could you be angry with us even to the very end, so that you would not leave us a remnant to be saved?
Are we again to go against your orders, taking wives from among the people who do these disgusting things? would you not be angry with us till our destruction was complete, till there was not one who got away safe?
15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just. For we have been left behind to be saved, just as it is this day. Behold, we are before your sight in our offense. And it is not possible to withstand you in this matter.”
O Lord God of Israel, righteousness is yours; we are only a small band which has been kept from death, as at this day: see, we are before you in our sin; for no one may keep his place before you because of this.
