Ezra 7-10
Ezra Journeys from Babylon to Jerusalem
aNow after these things, in the reign of bArtaxerxes king of Persia, there went up Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest. 6 This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ascribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested bbecause the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. 7 aSome of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8 He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, abecause the good hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and ato teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
King’s Decree on Behalf of Ezra
11 Now this is the copy of the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, aking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now 13 aI have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 Forasmuch as you are sent by the king and his aseven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God which is in your hand, 15 and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, awhose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with aall the silver and gold which you find in the whole province of Babylon, along bwith the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who coffered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; 17 with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambs, awith their grain offerings and their drink offerings and boffer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. 19 Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 The rest of the needs for the house of your God, for which you may have occasion to provide, aprovide for it from the royal treasury.
21 “I, even I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, athe scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently, 22 even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 kors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt as needed. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, aso that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. 24 We also inform you that ait is not allowed to impose tax, tribute or toll bon any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim or servants of this house of God.
25 “You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, aappoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may bteach anyone who is ignorant of them. 26 aWhoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.”
The King’s Kindness
27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, awho has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to adorn the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, 28 and ahas extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty princes. Thus I was strengthened according to bthe hand of the Lord my God upon me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.
People Who Went with Ezra
Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, aHattush; 3 of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of aParosh, Zechariah and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list; 4 of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him; 5 of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him; 6 and of the sons of aAdin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him; 7 and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him; 8 and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him; 9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him; 10 and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him; 11 and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him; 12 and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him; 13 and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and 60 males with them; 14 and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and 70 males with them.
Ezra Sends for Levites
15 Now I assembled them at athe river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I observed the people and the priests, I bdid not find any Levites there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. 17 I sent them to Iddo the leading man at the place Casiphia; and I told them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, athe temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. 18 aAccording to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a bman of insight of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, 18 men; 19 and Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men; 20 and 220 of athe temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.
Protection of God Invoked
21 Then I proclaimed aa fast there at bthe river of Ahava, that we might chumble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “aThe hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but bHis power and His anger are against all those who cforsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He alistened to our entreaty.
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, aSherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; 25 and I aweighed out to them bthe silver, the gold and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king and chis counselors and his princes and all Israel present there had offered. 26 aThus I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 gold talents, 27 and 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “aYou are holy to the Lord, and the butensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them auntil you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites aaccepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
31 Then we journeyed from athe river Ahava on bthe twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and cthe hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way. 32 aThus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.
Treasure Placed in the Temple
33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils awere weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of bMeremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.
35 aThe exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: b12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 Then athey delivered the king’s edicts to bthe king’s satraps and to the governors in the provinces beyond the River, and they supported the people and the house of God.
Mixed Marriages
Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not aseparated themselves from the peoples of the lands, baccording to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. 2 For athey have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that bthe holy race has cintermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.” 3 When I heard about this matter, I atore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and bsat down appalled. 4 Then aeveryone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until bthe evening offering.
Prayer of Confession
5 But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and astretched out my hands to the Lord my God; 6 and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our aguilt has grown even to the heavens. 7 aSince the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity and to plunder and to bopen shame, as it is this day. 8 But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, ato leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a bpeg in His holy place, that our God may cenlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 aFor we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not forsaken us, but bhas extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11 which You have 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 end to end and awith their impurity. 12 So now do not agive your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters to your sons, and bnever seek their peace or their prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and cleave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’ 13 After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and aour great guilt, since You our God have requited us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us ban escaped remnant as this, 14 ashall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? bWould You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant nor any who escape? 15 O Lord God of Israel, aYou are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in bour guilt, for cno one can stand before You because of this.”
Reconciliation with God
Now awhile Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself bbefore the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. 2 Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “aWe have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3 So now alet us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and btheir children, according to the counsel of my lord and of cthose who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done daccording to the law. 4 Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; abe courageous and act.”
5 Then Ezra rose and amade the leading priests, the Levites and all Israel, take oath that they would do according to this proposal; so they took the oath. 6 Then Ezra arose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went there, bhe did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. 7 They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8 and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, atrembling because of this matter and the heavy rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 Now therefore, amake confession to the Lord God of your fathers and bdo His will; and cseparate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” 12 Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice, “That’s right! As you have said, so it is our duty to do. 13 But there are many people; it is the rainy season and we are not able to stand in the open. Nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. 14 Let our leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the afierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us.” 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.
16 But the exiles did so. And Ezra the priest selected men who were heads of fathers’ households for each of their father’s households, all of them by name. So they convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17 They finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first day of the first month.
List of Offenders
18 Among the sons of the priests who had married foreign wives were found of the sons of aJeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. 19 They pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, athey offered a ram of the flock for their offense. 20 Of the sons of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah; 21 and of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah; 22 and of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.
23 Of Levites there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer.
24 Of the singers there was Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem and Uri.
25 Of Israel, of the sons of aParosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah and Benaiah; 26 and of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah; 27 and of the sons of aZattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza; 28 and of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai; 29 and of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch and Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth; 30 and of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh; 31 and of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, aMalchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah; 33 of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei; 34 of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, 38 Bani, Binnui, Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah and Joseph. 43 Of the sons of aNebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah. 44 All these had married aforeign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.
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