EzraChapter 10

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¹Ezra was praying and confessing. He was crying and lying face down in front of God's house. While he did this, a very large crowd of Israelites gathered around him. There were men, women, and children. The people also wept bitterly. ²Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the family of Elam, spoke to Ezra. He said, "We have been unfaithful to our God. We have married foreign women from the peoples of the land. But even so, there is still hope for Israel. ³So now let's make a covenant before our God. We will send away all the foreign wives and their children. This is the advice of my lord and of those who tremble at our God's command. Let it be done by the Law. ⁴Get up! This is your job, and we will stand with you. Be strong and do it!" ⁵So Ezra got up. He made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel make a promise to do what had been said. And they made the promise. ⁶Then Ezra left the front of God's house. He went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed there, he ate no food and drank no water. He was mourning because the exiles had been unfaithful. ⁷Then word was sent all through Judah and Jerusalem. All the exiles were told to gather in Jerusalem. ⁸The leaders and elders had decided this. Anyone who did not come within three days would lose everything he owned. He would also be put out of the group of exiles. ⁹So within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat in the open square at God's house. They were shaking because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. ¹⁰Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful. You have married foreign women. You have added to Israel's guilt. ¹¹So now confess your sin to the LORD, the God of your fathers. Do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from your foreign wives." ¹²The whole crowd answered with a loud voice, "Yes! We must do as you say! ¹³But there are many people here. It is the rainy season. We can't stay out here in the open. And this job can't be done in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this matter. ¹⁴Let our leaders act for the whole group. Then everyone in our towns who married a foreign woman can come at a set time. The elders and judges of each town can come with them. Let's do this until our God's fierce anger about this is turned away from us." ¹⁵(Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah were against this plan. Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite took their side.) ¹⁶So the exiles did what was planned. Ezra the priest chose men who were family leaders. Each was named, and each spoke for his family. On the first day of the tenth month, they sat down to look into each case. ¹⁷By the first day of the first month, they had finished with all the men who had married foreign women. ¹⁸Some from the families of the priests had married foreign women. These were from the family of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹They gave their word to send their wives away. For their guilt, each gave a ram from the flock as a guilt offering. ²⁰From the family of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. ²¹From the family of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. ²²From the family of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah. ²³From the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. ²⁴From the singers: Eliashib. From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri. ²⁵And from the rest of Israel, from the family of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah. ²⁶From the family of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. ²⁷From the family of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. ²⁸From the family of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. ²⁹From the family of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. ³⁰From the family of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh. ³¹From the family of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³²Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. ³³From the family of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. ³⁴From the family of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu. ³⁸From the family of Binnui: Shimei, ³⁹Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴²Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. ⁴³And from the family of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. ⁴⁴All these men had married foreign women. Some of them had children by these wives.