Ezra 10

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

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.

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

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.

3 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.

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.

4 Arise; for [this] matter [belongeth] to thee: we also [will be] with thee: be of good courage, and do [it].

(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).”

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

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.

6 Then Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and [when] he came thither, he ate no bread, nor drank water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

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].

7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem;

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.

8 And that whoever 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.

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].

9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days. It [was] the ninth month, and 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.

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].

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

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].

11 Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the foreign wives.

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.”

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

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

13 But the people [are] many, and [it is] a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand abroad, neither [is this] a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.

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.

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

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].”

15 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.

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.

16 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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

19 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.

They solemnly promised to divorce their wives, and they each sacrificed a ram to be an offering [to atone] for their sins.

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

From the clan of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah.

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

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

22 And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

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

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

The [other] descendants of Levi [who had married non-Israeli women] were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (whose other name was Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

31 And [of] the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

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

32 Benjamin, Malluch, [and] Shemariah.

Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

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

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

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

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

35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,

Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,

36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

38 And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

From the clan of Binnui there were Shimei,

39 And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,

40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

41 Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,

42 Shallum, Amariah, [and] Joseph.

Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

43 Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah.

From the clan of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

44 All these had taken foreign wives: and [some] of them had wives by whom they had children.

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.