< Ezra 9 >
1 And at the completion of these things, the heads have drawn near to me, saying, “The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not been separated from the peoples of the lands, as to their abominations, even the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, the Egyptian, and the Amorite,
And when these things were finished, the princes drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands in their abominations, [even] the Chananite, the Ethite, the Pherezite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, and the Moserite and the Amorite.
2 for they have taken of their daughters to them, and to their sons, and the holy seed have mingled themselves among the peoples of the lands, and the hand of the heads and of the seconds have been first in this trespass.”
For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and their sons; and the holy seed has passed amongst the nations of the lands, and the hand of the rulers [has been] first in this transgression.
3 And at my hearing this word, I have torn my garment and my upper robe, and pluck out of the hair of my head, and of my beard, and sit astonished,
And when I heard this thing, I tore my garments, and trembled, and plucked [some] of the hairs of my head and of my beard, and sat down mourning.
4 and to me are gathered everyone trembling at the words of the God of Israel, because of the trespass of the expulsion, and I am sitting astonished until the present of the evening.
Then there assembled to me all that followed the word of the God of Israel, on account of the transgression of the captivity; and I remained mourning until the evening sacrifice.
5 And at the present of the evening I have risen from my affliction, and at my tearing my garment and my upper robe, then I bow down on my knees, and spread out my hands to my God YHWH,
And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my humiliation; and when I had tore my garments, then I trembled, and I bow myself on my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord God,
6 and say, “O my God, I have been ashamed, and have blushed to lift up, O my God, my face to You, for our iniquities have increased over the head, and our guilt has become great to the heavens.
and I said, O Lord, I am ashamed and confounded, O my God, to lift up my face to you: for our transgressions have abounded over our head, and our trespasses have increased even to heaven.
7 From the days of our fathers we [are] in great guilt to this day, and in our iniquities we have been given—we, our kings, our priests—into the hand of the kings of the lands, with sword, with captivity, and with spoiling, and with shame of face, as [at] this day.
From the days of our fathers we have been in a great trespass until this day: and because of our iniquities we, and our kings, and our children, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the Gentiles by the sword, and by captivity, and by spoil, and with shame of our face, as at this day.
8 And now, as a small moment grace has been from our God YHWH, to leave an escape for us, and to give to us a nail in His holy place, by our God’s enlightening our eyes, and by giving us a little quickening in our servitude;
And now our God has dealt mercifully with us, so as to leave us to escape, and to give us an establishment in the place of his sanctuary, to enlighten our eyes, and to give a little quickening in our servitude.
9 for we [are] servants, and in our servitude our God has not forsaken us, and stretches out to us kindness before the kings of Persia, to give to us a quickening to lift up the house of our God, and to cause its ruins to cease, and to give to us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
For we are slaves, yet in our servitude the Lord our God has not deserted us; and he has extended favour to us in the sight of the kings of the Persians, to give us a quickening, that they should raise up the house of our God, and restore the desolate places of it, and to give us a fence in Juda and Jerusalem.
10 And now, what do we say, O our God, after this? For we have forsaken Your commands,
What shall we say, our God, after this? for we have forsaken your commandments,
11 that You have commanded by the hands of Your servants the prophets, saying, The land into which you are going to possess it, [is] a land of impurity, by the impurity of the people of the lands, by their abominations with which they have filled it—from mouth to mouth—by their uncleanness;
which you have given us by the hand of your servants the prophets, saying, The land, into which you go to inherit it, is a land subject to disturbance by the removal of the people of the nations for their abominations, wherewith they have filled it from one end to the other by their uncleanness.
12 and now, your daughters you do not give to their sons, and their daughters you do not take to your sons, and you do not seek their peace, and their good—for all time, so that you are strong, and have eaten the good of the land, and given possession to your sons for all time.
And now give not your daughters to their sons, and take not of their daughters for your sons, neither shall you seek their peace or their good for ever: that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and transmit it as an inheritance to your children for ever.
13 And after all that has come on us for our evil works, and for our great guilt (for You, O our God, have kept back of the rod from our iniquities, and have given to us an escape like this),
And after all that is come upon us because of our evil deeds, and our great trespass, [it is clear] that there is none such as our God, for you has lightly visited our iniquities, and given us deliverance;
14 do we turn back to break Your commands, and to join ourselves in marriage with the people of these abominations? Are You not angry against us—even to consumption—until there is no remnant and escaped part?
whereas we have repeatedly broken your commandments, and intermarried with the people of the lands: be not very angry with us to [our] utter destruction, so that there should be no remnant or escaping one.
15 O YHWH, God of Israel, You [are] righteous, for we have been left an escape, as [it is] this day; behold, we [are] before You in our guilt, for there is none to stand before You concerning this.”
O Lord God of Israel, you [are] righteous; for we remain [yet] escaped, as at this day: behold, we [are] before you in our trespasses: for we can’t stand before you on this account.