Ezra 10:1-44
10 And as ʽEzra made his prayer and confession, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, there gathered to him a very great assembly out of Israel, men and women and children; for the people were weeping at a great rate.
2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of ʽElam, replied to ʽEzra “We have been disloyal to our God and taken in foreign women out of the peoples of the country; but now there is a chance of hope for Israel as to this.
3 * Now let us make a covenant to our God to turn out all women and what is born from them in accordance with my lord’s recommendations.” And those who were alarmed by the commandments of our God stood up
4 and said “Stand up, because the matter is in your sphere, and you have us with you; take a strong stand, and act.”
5 And ʽEzra stood up and swore the chiefs of the priests and Levites and all Israel to act in accordance with these words, and they took the oath.
6 And ʽEzra left his place before the house of God and went to the vestry of Jehohanan the son of Eljashib and spent the night there, not eating nor drinking water, because he was mourning over the deportees’ disloyalty.
7 * And they sent around a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned deportees to gather at Jerusalem;
8 and anybody who did not come in after three days should, by resolution of the chiefs and elders, have all his chattels declared deodand and be excommunicated from the assembly of the deportees.
9 * And all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem after three days; that was the ninth month, on the tenth of the month; and all the people sat down in the square of the house of God, shivering over the business and because of the rainy weather.
10 And Priest ʽEzra stood up and said to them “You have been disloyal and taken in foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt.
11 But now give praise to your fathers’ God Jehovah and do what he will approve, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the country and from the foreign women.”
12 And all the assembly answered with a loud voice “We will do just as you are telling us to.
13 The people are numerous, though, and it is the rainy season, and we have not the strength to stand outdoors; and it is not a one-day or two-day business, because we have committed a great deal of crime in this respect.
14 Let our chiefs be a standing commission for all the assembly, and let everybody in our cities who has taken in foreign women come at specified times, and with them the elders and judges of each city, till we have turned back our God’s anger from us as to this matter.”
15 (Only Jonathan the son of ʽAsahel and Jahziah the son of Tikvah made a stand against this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.)
16 And the returned deportees did so; and Priest ʽEzra picked out men, heads of the families they belonged to, all by name, and they took their seats on the first day of the tenth month to see about the matter;
17 and they finished with all the men who had taken in foreign women by the first day of the first month.
18 * And there were found of the sons of the priests that had taken in foreign women, of the sons of Jeshuaʽ the son of Josadak and his brothers Maʽasejah and Eliʽezer and Jarib and Gedaliah;
19 and they gave their hands to turn out their wives, and were obligated to indemnity of a ram for their guilt;
20 and of the sons of Immer Hanani and Zebadiah;
21 and of the sons of Harim Maʽasejah and Elijah and Shemaʽiah and Jehiel and ʽUzzijah;
22 and of the sons of Pashhur Eljoʽenai, Maʽasejah, Ishmaʽel, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Eleasah.
23 And of the Levites, Jozabad and Shimei and Kelajah (that is, Kelitah), Pethahiah, Jehudah, and Eliʽezer.
24 * And of the singers, Eljashib.
And of the gatemen, Shallum and Telem and Uri.
25 And of Israel, of the sons of Pareosh Ramiah and Izzijah and Malkijah and Mijamin and Eleazar and Malkijah and Benajah;
26 and of the sons of ʽElam Mattaniah and Zecariah and Jehiel and ʽAbdi and Jeremoth and Elijah;
27 and of the sons of Zattu Eljoʽenai, Eljashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth and Zabad and ʽAzizah;
28 and of the sons of Bebai Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, ʽAthli;
29 and of the sons of Bani Meshullam, Malluc, Jedaʽiah, Jashub, Ishal, Jeremoth;
30 * and of the sons of Pahath Moab Ghadna and Kelal, Benajah, Maʽasejah, Mattaniah, Besalel and Binnui and Menassheh;
31 and of the sons of Harim Eliʽezer, Isshijah, Malkijah, Shemaʽiah, Shimeon,
32 Benjamin, Malluc, Shemariah;
33 and of the sons of Hashum Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Menassheh, Shimei;
34 * and of the sons of Bani Maʽadi, ʽAmram and Uel,
35 Benajah, Bediah, Keluhi,
36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eljashib,
37 Mattaniah, Mattenai and Jaʽasai;
38 and of the sons of Binnui Shimei
39 and Shelemiah and Nathan and ʽAdajah;
40 ** and of the sons of ʽAzgad Shashai, Sharai,
41 ʽAzarel and Shelemjahu, Shemariah,
42 Shallum, Amariah, Joseph;
43 of the sons of Nebo Jeʽiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai and Joel, Benajah.
44 * All these had married foreign wives, and some of them wives and had begotten sons.
Footnotes
^ 10:3 Var. all the foreign women
^ 10:7 Lit. sent around a voice
^ 10:9 Conj. after three days, in Kislev (that is the ninth month), on the
^ 10:18-43 Some of the names vary in different copies
^ 10:24 Var. Eljashib and Zaccur
^ 10:30 Or of the governor of Moab
^ 10:34 Conj. sons of Bigvai
^ 10:40 Codd. sons of Ezora (conj. Zaccai)
^ 10:40 Var. ʽAdajah, Macadnabu, Shashai
^ 10:44 (last half) Susp.; var. had married foreign wives, and dismissed them children and all
