EzraChapter 9

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¹After these things were done, the leaders came to me. They said, "The people of Israel have not kept themselves apart from the peoples around them. Even the priests and Levites have not. These peoples do hateful things like the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. ²The Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons. So the holy people have mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithful act!"a ³When I heard this, I tore my tunic and my cloak. I pulled out some hair from my head and my beard. I sat down in shock. ⁴Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me. They came because the exiles had been unfaithful. I sat there in shock until the evening offering. ⁵At the time of the evening offering, I got up from my shame. My tunic and cloak were still torn. I fell on my knees. I spread out my hands to the LORD my God. ⁶I prayed, "O my God, I am too ashamed to lift up my face to you, my God. That is because our sins are piled higher than our heads. Our guilt has reached up to the heavens. ⁷From the days of our fathers until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and priests have been handed over to the kings of the earth. We have faced the sword and captivity. We have been robbed and shamed, as we are today. ⁸But now, for a short time, the LORD our God has shown us grace. He has let a few of us stay alive. He has given us a firm place in his holy place. Our God has given light to our eyes. He has given us new life even while we are slaves.b ⁹We are slaves, but our God has not left us alone as slaves. He has shown us grace in front of the kings of Persia. He has given us new life to build again the house of our God and fix its ruins. He has given us a wall to keep us safe in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰And now, our God, what can we say after this? We have turned away from your commands. ¹¹You gave them through your servants the prophets. They said, 'You are going into the land to take it over. But that land is dirty. Its peoples have made it unclean. They have filled it from end to end with hateful things. ¹²So do not let your daughters marry their sons. Do not let your sons marry their daughters. Never try to help them have peace or riches. Then you will be strong. You will eat the good things of the land. And you will leave it to your children as their own forever.' ¹³All this has happened to us because of our evil acts and our great guilt. Yet you, our God, have punished us less than our sins deserve. You have let some of us live, like those who are here. ¹⁴So should we break your commands again? Should we marry the peoples who do these hateful things? Wouldn't you be so angry with us that you would wipe us out? Then not one of us would be left alive. ¹⁵O LORD, God of Israel, you are righteous! Only a few of us are left today. Here we are before you in our guilt. Because of it, no one can stand before you."