Ezra 9 - Nehemiah 3

English Standard Version

Ezra Prays About Intermarriage

9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the ^(A)Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands ^(B)with their abominations, from the ^(C)Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ^2 (D)For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the ^(E)holy race^[a] has ^(F)mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” ³ As soon as I heard this, I ^(G)tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and ^(H)sat appalled. ⁴ Then all who ^(I)trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat ^(J)appalled until the evening sacrifice. ⁵ And at the ^(K)evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment ^(L)and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees ^(M)and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, ⁶ saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities ^(N)have risen higher than our heads, and our ^(O)guilt has ^(P)mounted up to the heavens. ^7 (Q)From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great ^(R)guilt. And for 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, to plundering, ^(S)and to utter shame, as it is today. ⁸ But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a ^(T)remnant and to give us a ^(U)secure hold^[b] within his holy place, that our God may ^(V)brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. ^9 (W)For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, ^(X)but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection^[c] in Judea and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, ¹¹ which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with ^(Y)their uncleanness. ^12 (Z)Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land ^(AA)and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ ¹³ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for ^(AB)our great guilt, seeing that you, our ^(AC)God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a ^(AD)remnant as this, ¹⁴ shall we break your commandments again and ^(AE)intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us ^(AF)until you consumed us, so that there should be no ^(AG)remnant, nor any to escape? ¹⁵ O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a ^(AH)remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our ^(AI)guilt, ^(AJ)for none can stand before you because of this.”

The People Confess Their Sin

10 ^(AK)While Ezra prayed and ^(AL)made confession, weeping and ^(AM)casting himself down ^(AN)before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. ² And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: ^(AO)“We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. ³ Therefore ^(AP)let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and ^(AQ)their children, according to the counsel of my lord^[d] and of ^(AR)those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done ^(AS)according to the Law. ⁴ Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; ^(AT)be strong and do it.” ⁵ Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel ^(AU)take an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.

⁶ Then Ezra withdrew ^(AV)from before the house of God and went to the ^(AW)chamber of ^(AX)Jehohanan the son of ^(AY)Eliashib, where he spent the night,^[e] neither ^(AZ)eating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. ⁷ And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, ⁸ and that if anyone did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles.

⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the ^(BA)heavy rain. ¹⁰ And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have broken faith and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now then ^(BB)make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will. ^(BC)Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” ¹² Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said. ¹³ But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. ¹⁴ Let our officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come ^(BD)at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, ^(BE)until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and ^(BF)Meshullam and ^(BG)Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

¹⁶ Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men,^[f] heads of fathers' houses, according to their fathers' houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter; ¹⁷ and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.

Those Guilty of Intermarriage

¹⁸ Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, some of the sons of ^(BH)Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers. ¹⁹ They ^(BI)pledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was ^(BJ)a ram of the flock for their guilt.^{[g] 20 (BK)}Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. ^21 (BL)Of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. ²² Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. ²⁴ Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah,^[h] and Benaiah. ²⁶ Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. ²⁷ Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. ²⁸ Of the sons of Bebai were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. ²⁹ Of the sons of Bani were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. ³⁰ Of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh. ³¹ Of the ^(BM)sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, 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 ^(BN)Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu. ³⁸ Of the sons of Binnui:^[i] Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. ⁴³ Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. ⁴⁴ All these had married foreign women, and some of the women ^(BO)had even borne children.^[j]

Report from Jerusalem

1 The words of ^(BP)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month of ^(BQ)Chislev, ^(BR)in the twentieth year, as I was in ^(BS)Susa the citadel, ² that ^(BT)Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and ^(BU)shame. ^(BV)The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, ^(BW)and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

Nehemiah's Prayer

⁴ As soon as I heard these words I ^(BX)sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the ^(BY)God of heaven. ⁵ And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, ^(BZ)the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ^6 (CA)let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, ^(CB)confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even ^(CC)I and my father's house have sinned. ^7 (CD)We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules ^(CE)that you commanded your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, ^(CF)I will scatter you among the peoples, ^9 (CG)but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, ^(CH)though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them ^(CI)to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ ^10 (CJ)They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, ^(CK)let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was ^(CL)cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah Sent to Judah

2 In the month of Nisan, ^(CM)in the twentieth year of King ^(CN)Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, ^(CO)I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. ² And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but ^(CP)sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. ³ I said to the king, ^(CQ)“Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, ^(CR)when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” ⁴ Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed ^(CS)to the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” ⁶ And the king said to me (^(CT)the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me ^(CU)when I had given him a time. ⁷ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me ^(CV)to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, ⁸ and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of ^(CW)the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, ^(CX)for the good hand of my God was upon me.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls

⁹ Then I came to ^(CY)the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. ¹⁰ But when ^(CZ)Sanballat the Horonite and ^(DA)Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

^11 (DB)So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. ¹² Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. ¹³ I went out by night by ^(DC)the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to ^(DD)the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem ^(DE)that were broken down ^(DF)and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. ¹⁴ Then I went on to ^(DG)the Fountain Gate and to ^(DH)the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. ¹⁵ Then I went up in the night ^(DI)by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. ¹⁶ And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, ^(DJ)how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer ^(DK)suffer derision.” ¹⁸ And I told them ^(DL)of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” ^(DM)So they strengthened their hands for the good work. ¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and ^(DN)Geshem the Arab heard of it, ^(DO)they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? ^(DP)Are you rebelling against the king?” ²⁰ Then I replied to them, ^(DQ)“The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim^[k] in Jerusalem.”

Rebuilding the Wall

3 Then ^(DR)Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built ^(DS)the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and ^(DT)set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the ^(DU)Tower of Hananel. ² And next to him ^(DV)the men of Jericho built. And next to them^[l] Zaccur the son of Imri built.

³ The sons of Hassenaah built ^(DW)the Fish Gate. ^(DX)They laid its beams and ^(DY)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴ And next to them ^(DZ)Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them ^(EA)Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. ⁵ And next to them ^(EB)the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.^[m]

⁶ Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah ^(EC)repaired the Gate of Yeshanah.^{[n] (ED)}They laid its beams and ^(EE)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷ And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of ^(EF)the governor of the province Beyond the River. ⁸ Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as ^(EG)the Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ^(EH)ruler of half the district of^[o] Jerusalem, repaired. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. ¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and ^(EI)the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ^(EJ)ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired ^(EK)the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and ^(EL)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits^[p] of the wall, as far as ^(EM)the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of ^(EN)Beth-haccherem, repaired ^(EO)the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and ^(EP)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

¹⁵ And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired ^(EQ)the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and ^(ER)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of ^(ES)the Pool of Shelah of ^(ET)the king's garden, as far as ^(EU)the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite ^(EV)the tombs of David, as far as ^(EW)the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. ¹⁸ After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at ^(EX)the buttress.^{[q] 20} After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired^[r] another section from the buttress to the door of the house of ^(EY)Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him ^(EZ)Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. ²² After him the priests, the men of ^(FA)the surrounding area, repaired. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to ^(FB)the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at ^(FC)the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh ^26 (FD)and the temple servants living on ^(FE)Ophel repaired to a point opposite ^(FF)the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him ^(FG)the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above ^(FH)the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. ²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. ³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him ^(FI)Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite ^(FJ)his chamber. ³¹ After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,^[s] and to the upper chamber of the corner. ³² And between the upper chamber of the corner and ^(FK)the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.