Ezra
1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of
Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,
the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a
proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
2Thus says Cyrus king of
3Who is among you of all His people? May his God be
with him, and let him go up to
4And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let
the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock,
besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in
5Then the heads of the fathers' houses of
6And all those who were around them encouraged them
with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things,
besides all that was willingly offered.
7King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house
of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from
8and Cyrus king of
9This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one
thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives,
10thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver
basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles.
11All the articles of gold and silver were five
thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were
brought from
2Now these are the people of the province
who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who
returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city.
2Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah,
Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The
number of the men of the people of
3the people of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and
seventy-two;
4the people of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two;
5the people of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five;
6the people of Pahath-Moab, of the people of Jeshua
and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve;
7the people of
8the people of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five;
9the people of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;
10the people of Bani, six hundred and forty-two;
11the people of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three;
12the people of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and
twenty-two;
13the people of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six;
14the people of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six;
15the people of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four;
16the people of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;
17the people of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three;
18the people of Jorah, one hundred and twelve;
19the people of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three;
20the people of Gibbar, ninety-five;
21the people of
22the men of Netophah, fifty-six;
23the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;
24the people of Azmaveth, forty-two;
25the people of Kirjath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth,
seven hundred and forty-three;
26the people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and
twenty-one;
27the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two;
28the men of
29the people of Nebo, fifty-two;
30the people of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six;
31the people of the other
32the people of Harim, three hundred and twenty;
33the people of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and
twenty-five;
34the people of
35the people of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and
thirty.
36The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of
Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;
37the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two;
38the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and
forty-seven;
39the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
40The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the
sons of Hodaviah, seventy-four.
41The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and
twenty-eight.
42The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the
sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and
the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all.
43The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha,
the sons of Tabbaoth,
44the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of
Padon,
45the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of
Akkub,
46the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of
Hanan,
47the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of
Reaiah,
48the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of
Gazzam,
49the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of
Besai,
50the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of
Nephusim,
51the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of
Harhur,
52the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of
Harsha,
53the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of
Tamah,
54the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.
55The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai,
the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Peruda,
56the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of
Giddel,
57the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons
of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Ami.
58All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon's
servants were three hundred and ninety-two.
59And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah,
Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not identify their
father's house or their genealogy, whether they were of
60the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons
of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two;
61and of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah,
the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of
Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.
62These sought their listing among those who were
registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded
from the priesthood as defiled.
63And the governor said to them that they should not
eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and
Thummim.
64The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand
three hundred and sixty,
65besides their male and female servants, of whom there
were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred
men and women singers.
66Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their
mules two hundred and forty-five,
67their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their
donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
68Some of the heads of the fathers' houses, when they
came to the house of the LORD which is in
69According to their ability, they gave to the treasury
for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minas of silver,
and one hundred priestly garments.
70So the priests and the Levites, some of the people,
the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all
3And when the seventh month had come,
and the children of
2Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests,
and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar
of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the
Law of Moses the man of God.
3Though fear had come upon them because of the people of
those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt
offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings.
4They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is
written, and offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by
ordinance for each day.
5Afterwards they offered the regular burnt offering,
and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were
consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to
the LORD.
6From the first day of the seventh month they began to
offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the
LORD had not been laid.
7They also gave money to the masons and the
carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of
8Now in the second month of the second year of their
coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the
Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began
work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the
work of the house of the LORD.
9Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with
his sons, and the sons of
10When the builders laid the foundation of the temple
of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites,
the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance
of David king of Israel.
11And they sang responsively, praising and giving
thanks to the LORD: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward
12But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the
fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice
when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted
aloud for joy,
13so that the people could not discern the noise of the
shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people
shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.
4Now when the adversaries of Judah
and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the
temple of the LORD God of
2they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers'
houses, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as
you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of
3But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads
of the fathers' houses of
4Then the people of the land tried to discourage the
people of
5and hired counselors against them to frustrate their
purpose all the days of Cyrus king of
6In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his
reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of
7In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath,
Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of
8Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a
letter against
9From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and
the rest of their companions--representatives of the Dinaites, the
Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of
10and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble
Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder
beyond the River --and so forth.
11(This is a copy of the letter that they sent him) To
King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, and
so forth:
12Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up
from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and evil
city, and are finishing its walls and repairing the foundations.
13Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is
built and the walls completed, they will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and
the king's treasury will be diminished.
14Now because we receive support from the palace, it
was not proper for us to see the king's dishonor; therefore we have sent and
informed the king,
15that search may be made in the book of the records of
your fathers. And you will find in the book of the records and know that this
city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have
incited sedition within the city in former times, for which cause this city was
destroyed.
16We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and
its walls are completed, the result will be that you will have no dominion
beyond the River.
17The king sent an answer: To Rehum the commander, to
Shimshai the scribe, to the rest of their companions who dwell in
18The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read
before me.
19And I gave the command, and a search has been made,
and it was found that this city in former times has revolted against kings, and
rebellion and sedition have been fostered in it.
20There have also been mighty kings over
21Now give the command to make these men cease, that
this city may not be built until the command is given by me.
22Take heed now that you do not fail to do this. Why
should damage increase to the hurt of the kings?
23Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read
before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste
to
24Thus the work of the house of God which is at
5Then the prophet Haggai and
Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in
2So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son
of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in
3At the same time Tattenai the governor of the region
beyond the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke
thus to them: "Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this
wall?"
4Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men
who were constructing this building.
5But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the
Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius.
Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter.
6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent: The
governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and his
companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the
king.
7(They sent a letter to him, in which was written
thus) To Darius the king: All peace.
8Let it be known to the king that we went into the
9Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them:
"Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?"
10We also asked them their names to inform you, that we
might write the names of the men who were chief among them.
11And thus they returned us an answer, saying: "We
are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the
temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of
12But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to
wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of
13However, in the first year of Cyrus king of
14Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of
God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in
15And he said to him, "Take these articles; go,
carry them to the temple site that is in
16Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the
foundation of the house of God which is in
17Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let a
search be made in the king's treasure house, which is there in
6Then King Darius issued a decree,
and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in
2And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the
3In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a
decree concerning the house of God at
4with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new
timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king's treasury.
5Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of
God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and
brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in
Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God"--
6Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region
beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are
beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there.
7Let the work of this house of God alone; let the
governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its
site.
8Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for
the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost
be paid at the king's expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this
is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered.
9And whatever they need--young bulls, rams, and lambs
for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil,
according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem--let it be given
them day by day without fail,
10that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the
God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict,
let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it;
and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this.
12And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy
any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of
God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
13Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the
River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what
King Darius had sent.
14So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered
through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.
And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of
Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of
15Now the temple was finished on the third day of the
month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16Then the children of
17And they offered sacrifices at the dedication of this
house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a
sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the
tribes of Israel.
18They assigned the priests to their divisions and the
Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in
19And the descendants of the captivity kept the
Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
20For the priests and the Levites had purified
themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And they slaughtered the Passover
lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests,
and for themselves.
21Then the children of
22And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven
days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king
of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of
God, the God of Israel.
7Now after these things, in the reign
of Artaxerxes king of
2the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of
Ahitub,
3the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of
Meraioth,
4the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of
Bukki,
5the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of
Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest--
6this Ezra came up from
7Some of the children of
8And Ezra came to
9On the first day of the first month he began his
journey from
10For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of
the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in
11This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes
gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of
the LORD, and of His statutes to
12Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a
scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth.
13I issue a decree that all those of the people of
14And whereas you are being sent by the king and his
seven counselors to inquire concerning
15and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold
which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel,
whose dwelling is in
16and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find
in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people
and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in
Jerusalem--
17now therefore, be careful to buy with this money
bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings,
and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in
18And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to
do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your
God.
19Also the articles that are given to you for the
service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.
20And whatever more may be needed for the house of your
God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king's
treasury.
21And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to
all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra
the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let
it be done diligently,
22up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors
of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without
prescribed limit.
23Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it
diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be
wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
24Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to
impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers,
gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God.
25And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom,
set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region
beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do
not know them.
26Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the
law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death,
or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.
27Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put
such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD
which is in
28and has extended mercy to me before the king and his
counselors, and before all the king's mighty princes. So I was encouraged, as
the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of
8These are the heads of their
fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from
2of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of
Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;
3of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh,
Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males;
4of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of
Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males;
5of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him
three hundred males;
6of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and
with him fifty males;
7of the sons of
8of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of
Michael, and with him eighty males;
9of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and
with him two hundred and eighteen males;
10of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him
one hundred and sixty males;
11of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and
with him twenty-eight males;
12of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan,
and with him one hundred and ten males;
13of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are
these--Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah--and with them sixty males;
14also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and
with them seventy males.
15Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava,
and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests,
and found none of the sons of Levi there.
16Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan,
Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and
Elnathan, men of understanding.
17And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at
the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his
brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia--that they should bring us servants
for the house of our God.
18Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they
brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the
son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men;
19and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of
Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men;
20also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had
appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All
of them were designated by name.
21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava,
that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way
for us and our little ones and all our possessions.
22For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of
soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had
spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for
good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who
forsake Him."
23So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered
our prayer.
24And I separated twelve of the leaders of the
priests--Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them--
25and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the
articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his
counselors and his princes, and all
26I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty
talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred
talents of gold,
27twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two
vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.
28And I said to them, "You are holy to the LORD;
the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering
to the LORD God of your fathers.
29Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the
leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers' houses of
30So the priests and the Levites received the silver
and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to
31Then we departed from the
32So we came to
33Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the
articles were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son
of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; with them
were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui,
34with the number and weight of everything. All the
weight was written down at that time.
35The children of those who had been carried away
captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of
Israel: twelve bulls for all
36And they delivered the king's orders to the king's
satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support
to the people and the house of God.
9When these things were done, the
leaders came to me, saying, "The people of Israel and the priests and the
Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with
respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites,
the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
2For they have taken some of their daughters as wives
for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples
of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in
this trespass."
3So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my
robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down
astonished.
4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of
Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been
carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.
5At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and
having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands
to the LORD my God.
6And I said: "O my God, I am too ashamed and
humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen
higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
7Since the days of our fathers to this day we have
been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have
been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to
captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day.
8And now for a little while grace has been shown from the
LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy
place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in
our bondage.
9For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in
our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of
10And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For
we have forsaken Your commandments,
11which You commanded by Your servants the prophets,
saying, "The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land,
with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which
have filled it from one end to another with their impurity.
12Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives
for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their
peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and
leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.'
13And after all that has come upon us for our evil
deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our
iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this,
14should we again break Your commandments, and join in
marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry
with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or
survivor?
15O LORD God of
10Now while Ezra was praying, and
while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a
very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from
2And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of
3Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to
put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the
advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and
let it be done according to the law.
4Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We
also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it."
5Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests,
the Levites, and all
6Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and
went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there,
he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of
those from the captivity.
7And they issued a proclamation throughout
8and that whoever would not come within three days,
according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would
be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those
from the captivity.
9So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at
10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them,
"You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of
11Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of
your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the
land, and from the pagan wives."
12Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice,
"Yes! As you have said, so we must do.
13But there are many people; it is the season for heavy
rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two
days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter.
14Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand;
and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed
times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until the fierce
wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter."
15Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son
of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them
support.
16Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And
Ezra the priest, with certain heads of the fathers' households, were set apart
by the fathers' households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the
first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.
17By the first day of the first month they finished
questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.
18And among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan
wives the following were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and
his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19And they gave their promise that they would put away
their wives; and being guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their
trespass offering.
20Also of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah;
21of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah,
Jehiel, and Uzziah;
22of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael,
Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23Also of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (the
same is Kelita),
24Also of the singers: Eliashib; and of the
gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25And others of
26of the sons of
27of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah,
Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza;
28of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai,
and Athlai;
29of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah,
Jashub, Sheal, and Ramoth;
30of the sons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah,
Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh;
31of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah,
Shemaiah, Shimeon,
32Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah;
33of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad,
Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei;
34of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,
35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluh,
36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
37Mattaniah,
Mattenai, Jaasai,
38Bani,
Binnui, Shimei,
39Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
41Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,
42Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph;
43of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad,
Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44All these had taken pagan wives, and some of them had
wives by whom they had children.