Esdra 10
1 Mentre Esdra pregava e faceva questa confessione piangendo, prostrato davanti alla casa di Dio, si riunì intorno a lui un'assemblea molto numerosa d'Israeliti, uomini, donne e fanciulli, e il popolo piangeva dirottamente.
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 Allora Secania, figlio di Iechièl, uno dei figli di Elam, prese la parola e disse a Esdra: «Noi siamo stati infedeli verso il nostro Dio, sposando donne straniere, prese dalle popolazioni del luogo. Orbene: c'è ancora una speranza per Israele nonostante ciò.
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 Ora noi facciamo questa alleanza davanti al nostro Dio: rimanderemo tutte queste donne e i figli nati da esse, secondo il tuo consiglio, mio signore, e il consiglio di quelli che tremano davanti al comando del nostro Dio. Si farà secondo la legge!
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 Alzati, perché a te è affidato questo compito; noi saremo con te; sii forte e mettiti all'opera!».
(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 Allora Esdra si alzò e fece giurare ai capi dei sacerdoti e dei leviti e a tutto Israele che avrebbero agito secondo quelle parole; essi giurarono.
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 Esdra allora, alzatosi davanti alla casa di Dio, andò nella camera di Giovanni, figlio di Eliasib. Là egli passò la notte, senza prendere cibo né bere acqua, perché era in lutto a causa dell'infedeltà dei rimpatriati.
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 Poi fu fatta passare la voce in Giuda e Gerusalemme a tutti i rimpatriati che si radunassero in Gerusalemme:
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 a chiunque non fosse venuto entro tre giorni - così disponeva il consiglio dei capi e degli anziani - sarebbero stati votati allo sterminio tutti i beni ed egli stesso sarebbe stato escluso dalla comunità dei rimpatriati.
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 Allora tutti gli uomini di Giuda e di Beniamino si radunarono a Gerusalemme entro tre giorni; si era al nono mese, il venti del mese. Tutto il popolo stava nella piazza del tempio, tremante per questo evento e per gli scrosci della pioggia.
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 Allora il sacerdote Esdra si alzò e disse loro: «Voi avete commesso un atto d'infedeltà, sposando donne straniere: così avete accresciuto la colpevolezza d'Israele.
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 Ma ora rendete lode al Signore, Dio dei vostri padri, e fate la sua volontà, separandovi dalle popolazioni del paese e dalle donne straniere».
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 Tutta l'assemblea rispose a gran voce: «Sì, dobbiamo fare secondo la tua parola.
The whole group answered, shouting loudly, “Yes, what you have said is right! We will do what you have said.”
13 Ma il popolo è numeroso e siamo al tempo delle piogge; non è possibile restare all'aperto. D'altra parte non è lavoro di un giorno o di due, perché siamo in molti ad aver peccato in questa materia.
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 I nostri capi stiano a rappresentare tutta l'assemblea; e tutti quelli delle nostre città che hanno sposato donne straniere vengano in date determinate e accompagnati dagli anziani della rispettiva città e dai loro giudici, finché non abbiano allontanato da noi l'ira ardente del nostro Dio per questa causa».
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 Soltanto Giònata figlio di Asaèl e Iaczeia figlio di Tikva si opposero, appoggiati da Mesullàm e dal levita Sabbetài.
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 I rimpatriati fecero come era stato proposto: il sacerdote Esdra si scelse alcuni uomini, capifamiglia, uno per casato, tutti designati per nome. Essi iniziarono le sedute il primo giorno del decimo mese per esaminare la questione
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 e terminarono di esaminare tutti gli uomini che avevano sposato donne straniere il primo giorno del primo mese.
By March 27 of the next year they finished determining which men had married women who were not Israelis.
18 Tra gli appartenenti ai sacerdoti, che avevano sposato donne straniere, c'erano: dei figli di Giosuè figlio di Iozadàk e tra i suoi fratelli: Maaseia, Elièzer, Iarib e Godolia.
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 Essi hanno promesso con giuramento di rimandare le loro donne e hanno offerto un ariete in espiazione della loro colpa.
They solemnly promised to divorce their wives, and they each sacrificed a ram to be an offering [to atone] for their sins.
20 Dei figli di Immer: Canàni e Zebadia.
From the clan of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 Dei figli di Carim: Maaseia, Elia, Semaia, Iechièl e Uzzia.
From the clan of Harim there were Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 Dei figli di Pascur: Elioènai, Maaseia, Ismaele, Natanaele, Iozabàd ed Eleasà.
From the clan of Pashhur there were Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 Degli appartenenti ai leviti: Iozabàd, Simei, Chelaia, chiamato il Chelita, Petachia, Giuda ed Elièzer.
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 Dei cantori: Eliasib. Dei portinai: Sallùm, Telem e Uri.
There was Eliashib the musician. From the temple guards there were Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 Tra gli Israeliti: dei figli di Paros: Ramia, Izzia, Malchia, Miamin, Eleàzaro, Malchia e Benaià.
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 Dei figli di Elam: Mattania, Zaccaria, Iechièl, Abdi, Ieremòt ed Elia.
From the clan of Elam there were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 Dei figli di Zattu: Elioenài, Eliasib, Mattania, Ieremòt, Zabad e Aziza.
From the clan of Zattu there were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 Dei figli di Bebai: Giovanni, Anania, Zabbai e Atlai.
From the clan of Bebai there were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29 Dei figli di Bani: Mesullàm, Malluch, Adaia, Iasub, Seal e Ieramòt.
From the clan of Bani there were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
30 Dei figli di Pacat-Moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaià, Maaseia, Mattania, Bezaleèl, Binnui e Manàsse.
From the clan of Pahath-Moab there were Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
31 Dei figli di Carim: Elièzer, Ishshia, Malchia, Semaia, Simeone,
From the clan of Harim there were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
32 Beniamino, Malluch, Semaria.
Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
33 Dei figli di Casum: Mattenai, Mattatta, Zabad, Elifèlet, Ieremai, Manàsse e Simei.
From the clan of Hashum there were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34 Dei figli di Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,
From the clan of Bigvai there were Maadai, Amram, Uel,
35 Benaià, Bedia, Cheluu,
Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,
36 Vania, Meremòt, Eliasib,
Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
37 Mattenai, Iaasai.
Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
38 Dei figli di Binnui: Simei,
From the clan of Binnui there were Shimei,
39 Selemia, Natàn, Adaia.
Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
40 Dei figli di Azzur: Sasai, Sàrai,
Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
41 Azareèl, Selemia, Semaria,
Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,
42 Sallùm, Amaria, Giuseppe.
Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
43 Dei figli di Nebo: Ieièl, Mattitia, Zabad, Zebina, Iaddai, Gioele, Benaià.
From the clan of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 Tutti questi avevano sposato donne straniere e rimandarono le donne insieme con i figli che avevano avuti da esse.
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.
