1 Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting
himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together to him out
of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people
wept very sore. 2 Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam,
answered Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign
women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning
this thing. 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 who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it
be done according to the law. 4 Arise; for the matter belongs to you, and
we are with you: be of good courage, and do it. 5 Then arose Ezra, and
made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that
they would do according to this word. So they swore. 6 Then 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, nor drink
water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity.
7 They made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the
children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together to
Jerusalem; 8 and that whoever didn't 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 assembly of the captivity.
9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together to
Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth
day of the month: and all the people sat in the broad place before
the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.
10 Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, You have trespassed,
and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel. 11 Now
therefore make confession to Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and do his
pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the
foreign women. 12 Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, As you
have said concerning us, so must we do. 13 But the people are many, and it
is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand outside: neither is this
a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.
14 Let now our princes be appointed for all the assembly, and let all
those who are in our cities who have married foreign women come at appointed
times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges of it, until
the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, until this matter be
dispatched. 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of
Tikvah stood up against this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the
Levite helped them. 16 The children of the captivity did so. Ezra the
priest, with certain heads of fathers' houses, after their
fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart; and they sat
down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 They
made an end with all the men who had married foreign women by the first day
of the first month. 18 Among the sons of the priests there were found who
had married foreign women: namely, of the sons of Jeshua, the son of
Jozadak, and his brothers, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19 They gave their hand that they would put away their wives; and being
guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt. 20 Of the
sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. 21 Of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and
Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. 22 Of the sons of Pashhur:
Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah. 23 Of the
Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah,
Judah, and Eliezer. 24 Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the porters: Shallum,
and Telem, and Uri. 25 Of Israel: Of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, and
Izziah, and Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.
26 Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and
Jeremoth, and Elijah. 27 Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib,
Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. 28 Of the sons of Bebai:
Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai. 29 Of the sons of Bani: Meshullam,
Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, Jeremoth. 30 Of the sons of
Pahath-moab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and
Binnui, and Manasseh. 31 of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah,
Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah. 33 Of
the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh,
Shimei. 34 Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel, 35 Benaiah,
Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah,
Mattenai, and Jaasu, 38 and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, 39 and Shelemiah,
and Nathan, and Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, and
Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, Joseph. 43 Of the sons of
Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo, and Joel, Benaiah. 44 All
these had taken foreign wives; and some of them had wives by whom they had
children.
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