Ezra 9 - Nehemiah 3
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Sin of Intermarriage
9 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, who live according to their detestable practices—the practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2 They have taken wives from their daughters for themselves and for their sons. They have thereby mixed the holy seed with the peoples of the lands, and the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”
3 Then when I heard about this situation, I tore my clothing and my robe, and I pulled out some of the hair on my head and my beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, was gathered around me as I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 At the time of the evening sacrifice, I arose from my self-humiliation, and with my clothing and my robe torn, I got down on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God.
Ezra’s Prayer
6 I said:
My God, I am ashamed and too embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, because our sinful deeds[a] have risen above our heads, and our guilt is so great that it reaches to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until today, we have been extremely guilty. Because of our sinful deeds, we, our kings, and our priests have been turned over to the kings of the lands—by sword, by captivity, by plunder, and today by humiliation.
8 Now, for a short time, mercy has been shown to us from the Lord our God, in order to leave us a remnant that has escaped and to give us a stake in his Holy Place, so that our God may give light to our eyes and give us a little relief in our slavery, 9 because we are slaves. However, even in our slavery our God has not abandoned us but has extended favor to us before the kings of Persia in order to give us relief, to raise up the house of our God and to restore its ruins, and to give us a protective wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 Now, what can we say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded through your servants the prophets when you said, “The land which you are entering to possess is a land polluted with the filth of the peoples of the lands and with their detestable practices that fill it from end to end with their impurity. 12 So now, do not give your daughters to their sons, and do not take their daughters as wives for your sons. Never seek their welfare or their prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.”
13 After everything that has come upon us because of our evil acts and our extreme guilt, nevertheless you, our God, have punished us less than we deserved and have given us a remnant that has escaped like this. 14 Should we break your commandments again by intermarrying with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t you remain angry with us until you completely destroyed us and left us without a survivor or a remnant that has escaped?
15 Lord, God of Israel, it is because you are righteous that we are left with a remnant today. Here we are before you in our guilt, but no one can stand before you because of this.
Confession Leads to a New Covenant
10 Now as Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and throwing himself down in front of the house of God, a very large crowd from Israel gathered to him, including men, women, and children. The people also wept bitterly.
2 Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel from the descendants of Elam responded to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign wives from the peoples of the land. However, now there is hope for Israel in this matter. 3 So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all our wives and the children born to them, according to the advice of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law. 4 Get up, because the matter is your concern, and we are with you. Be strong and take action.”
5 Then Ezra got up and required the officials among the priests, the Levites, and all Israel to take an oath that they would deal with this matter. So they took an oath.
6 Then Ezra got up and left the front of the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib and spent the night there.[b] He did not eat any food or drink any water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 Then a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to gather in Jerusalem. 8 According to the decision of the officials and the elders, anyone who would not come within three days would forfeit all his property, and he would be banished from the community of the exiles.
Investigating the Intermarriages
9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within three days. (It was in the ninth month,[c] on the twentieth day of the month.) All the people were sitting in the public square in front of the house of God, trembling[d] because of the situation and as a result of the rains.
10 Ezra the priest arose and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives, thereby adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 So now, give praise to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will—separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from your foreign wives.”
12 The entire assembly answered in a loud voice, “It is so! We must do as you have said. 13 However, there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We can’t stand around outdoors, and the business will take more than a day or two, since we have rebelled greatly in this matter. 14 Let our officers represent the entire assembly, and let everyone in our cities who has married foreign wives come at appointed times. The elders from every city and its judges should come with them, until the fierce anger of our God concerning this matter has been turned away from us.” 15 (Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.)
16 So the exiles acted according to this decision. Ezra the priest and men who were the leading fathers of the fathers’ houses[e] were selected, all of them identified by name. They convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17 On the first day of the first month, they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign wives.
The Report of the Investigation
18 From the descendants of the priests who had married foreign wives,
these men were identified:
From the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers they were Ma’aseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 They pledged to send away their wives and to offer guilt offerings: a ram from the flock for their guilt.
20 From the descendants of Immer they were Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 From the descendants of Harim they were Ma’aseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 From the descendants of Pashhur they were Elioenai, Ma’aseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 From the Levites they identified Jozabad and Shimei and Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 From the singers: Eliashib.
From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 From the laypeople of Israel:
From the descendants of Parosh they were Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah,[f] and Benaiah.
26 From the descendants of Elam they were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 From the descendants of Zattu they were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 From the descendants of Bebai they were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29 From the descendants of Bani they were Meshullam, Malluk, and Adaiah, Jashub and Sheal and Jeremoth.
30 From the descendants of Pahath Moab they were Adna and Kelal,
Benaiah, Ma’aseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and Binnui and Manasseh, 31 and from the citizens of Harim they were Eliezer, Isshijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Simeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluk, and Shemariah.
33 From the descendants of Hashum they were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34 From the descendants of Bani they were Ma’adai, Amram, and Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhu, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Ja’asai, 38 and Bani and Binnui, Shimei,[g] 39 and Shelemiah and Nathan and Adaiah, 40 Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.[h]
43 From the citizens of Nebo they were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 All these had taken foreign wives and had children with them.
Heading
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah.
The Problem
In the month of Kislev of the twentieth year, I was in Susa, the citadel.[i] 2 Hanani, one of my brothers,[j] came to me with men from Judah. I asked them about the remnant of the Jews, who had survived the captivity and had escaped from it, and about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “The survivors from the captivity who are there in the province are in great misery and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned.”
4 When I heard about these things, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of Heaven.[k] 5 I said:
Please, Lord, the God of Heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God, who preserves the covenant and faithfulness for those who love him and keep his commands: 6 Let your ear be attentive and your eyes be open as you hear the prayer of your servant today, which I am now praying before you day and night, concerning the Israelites, who are your servants. I am also confessing the sins of the people of Israel that we committed against you. I and my father’s house have also sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you, and we have not kept the commands, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances that you commanded Moses your servant.
8 Please remember the command you gave to Moses your servant when you said, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. 9 But when you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, even if you have been scattered to the end of heaven, from there I will gather them, and I will bring them to the place where I have chosen to make my name dwell.”[l] 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed with your great power and your mighty hand.
11 Please, my Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayers of your servants who are delighted to revere your name. Make your servant successful today, and give him mercy in this man’s presence.
I was cupbearer[m] to the king.
Nehemiah Receives a Commission From Artaxerxes
2 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,[n] wine was being served to the king, and I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why do you look sad, since you are not sick? This must be sadness in your heart.”
Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place of my ancestors’ tombs, lies in ruins, and its gates have been consumed by fire?”
4 Then the king said to me, “What do you want?”
So I prayed to the God of Heaven, 5 and I said to the king, “If it seems good to the king, and if you look upon your servant with favor, then send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestors’ tombs are, and let me rebuild it.”
6 The king said to me, while the queen was sitting next to him, “How long will your journey be and when will you return?”
The king was pleased to send me, so I gave him a definite time. 7 I also said to the king, “If it seems good to the king, please give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates,[o] so that they will grant me safe passage through that province until I come to Judah, 8 also a letter to Asaph, superintendent of the king’s forest, so that he will give me lumber to lay beams for the gates of the citadel of the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” The king gave them to me, because the good hand of my God was upon me.
9 Then I came to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, and I gave them the king’s letters. The king had sent army officers and cavalry with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official[p] heard about this, they were very upset that a man had come to seek the welfare of the Israelites.
Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Wall
11 So I arrived at Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12 At that time I got up in the middle of the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what God had placed into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding. 13 At night I went out through the Valley Gate and went toward the vicinity of the Jackal Well[q] and the Dung Gate. I began inspecting the walls of Jerusalem, which had been breached, and its gates, which had been consumed by fire. 14 Then I crossed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no place for the animal that I was riding to get through. 15 So I kept going up the valley and inspecting the wall during the night. Then I turned around and went back the same way and came in through the Valley Gate.
16 The officials did not know where I had gone and what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews—the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the rest of the people who would be doing the work. 17 So I said to them, “You see the very bad situation we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be disgraced.” 18 Then I told them that the hand of my God had been good to me, and I also told them the words the king had said to me.
They said, “Let’s get up and rebuild!” Then they encouraged each other for this good work.
19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they ridiculed us and held us in contempt. They said, “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I responded to them by saying, “The God of Heaven will make us successful. We, his servants, will rise up and rebuild. But you have no portion or right or heritage in Jerusalem.”
Leaders of the Work Crews Who Rebuilt Jerusalem’s Wall
3 The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests began to work, and they rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and installed its doors. They rebuilt the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of Hananel.
2 Next to him the men of Jericho rebuilt the wall.[r]
Next to them Zakkur son of Imri rebuilt the wall.
3 The citizens of Sena’ah[s] rebuilt the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and hung its doors with their bolts and their bars.
4 Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the wall.
Next to him Meshullam the son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, repaired the wall.
Next to him Zadok son of Ba’ana repaired the wall.
5 Next to him the men of Tekoa repaired the wall. However, their important people would not humble themselves in service to their lord.[t]
6 Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They laid its beams and installed its doors with their bolts and their bars.
7 Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite repaired the wall with the men from Gibeon and Mizpah, who lived under the jurisdiction of the governor of Trans-Euphrates.
8 Next to them Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the wall.
Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired the wall. (However, they abandoned the part of Jerusalem that had been enclosed by the Broad Wall.[u])
9 Next to him Rephaiah son of Hur, administrator of half of the district of Jerusalem, repaired the wall.
10 Next to him Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired the wall opposite his house.
Next to him Hattush son of Hashabeneiah repaired the wall.
11 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath Moab repaired a second section of the wall, including the Tower of the Ovens.
12 Next to them Shallum son of Hallohesh, administrator of half of the district of Jerusalem—he and his daughters—repaired the wall.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and installed its doors with their bolts and their bars, and they repaired fifteen hundred feet[v] of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.
14 Also, Malkijah son of Recab, administrator of the district of Beth Hakkerem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and installed its doors with their bolts and their bars.
15 Also, Shallun son of Kol Hozeh, administrator of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and roofed it and installed its doors with their bolts and their bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah[w] for the King’s Garden, as far as the steps that go down from the City of David.
16 Beyond him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, administrator[x] of half the district of Beth Zur, repaired the wall up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the Artificial Pool and as far as the House of the Warriors.
17 Beyond him the Levites repaired the wall: Rehum son of Bani and next to him Hashabiah, administrator of half of the district of Keilah, repaired the wall for his district.
18 Beyond them their relatives repaired the wall: Binnui[y] son of Henadad, administrator of half the district of Keilah.
19 Next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, mayor[z] of Mizpah, repaired a second section of the wall opposite the Ascent of the Armory at the Angle.
20 Beyond him Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired a second section of the wall from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib.
21 Beyond him Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired a second section of the wall from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of Eliashib’s house.
22 And beyond him, the priests, the men of the surrounding area, repaired the wall.
23 Beyond them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired the wall opposite their house.
Beyond them Azariah the son of Ma’aseiah, the son of Ananiah, repaired the wall beside his house.
24 Beyond him Binnui son of Henadad repaired a second section of the wall from the house of Azariah to the Angle, that is, to the Corner.[aa]
25 Palal son of Uzai repaired the wall from opposite the Angle and the tower that projects from the king’s upper house, which belongs to the Courtyard of the Guard.
Beyond him Pedaiah son of Parosh 26 and the temple servants who were living on the Ophel Hill repaired the wall as far as the Water Gate toward the east and the Projecting Tower.
27 Beyond them the men of Tekoa repaired a second length of the wall from opposite the large Projecting Tower to the Ophel Wall.
28 Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired the wall. Each man repaired the part opposite his own house.
29 Beyond them Zadok son of Immer repaired the wall opposite his own house.
And beyond him Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired the wall.
30 Beyond him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired a second section of the wall. After him Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired the wall opposite his chamber.
31 Beyond him Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the wall up to the building of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate and to the Upper Room at the Corner.
32 Between the Upper Room at the Corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired the wall.
Footnotes
- Ezra 9:6 The Hebrew uses two different words for guilt in this prayer. One is rendered sinful deeds.
- Ezra 10:6 The translation follows the Greek. The Hebrew reads and went there.
- Ezra 10:9 November/December, the start of the cold, rainy season
- Ezra 10:9 Or shivering
- Ezra 10:16 Fathers and fathers’ houses were common terms for the leaders of units of society in Israel.
- Ezra 10:25 The Greek Old Testament reads Hashabiah in place of the second Malkijah.
- Ezra 10:38 In the Greek Old Testament, verse 38 begins a new section: and from the sons of Binnui they were Shimei. . ..
- Ezra 10:42 In these lists, the word and is distributed in an irregular pattern throughout. It is uncertain if this has significance for distinguishing and marking groups within the larger group.
- Nehemiah 1:1 Or fortress. The term often designates royal cities of the Persian Empire.
- Nehemiah 1:2 In Nehemiah brother can mean brother, relative, or associate.
- Nehemiah 1:4 The God of Heaven is a common name for the Lord in the books from the time of the Exile.
- Nehemiah 1:9 See Deuteronomy 30:1-5.
- Nehemiah 1:11 Cupbearer is a high, cabinet-level office, with responsibility for the king’s safety.
- Nehemiah 2:1 Hebrew Artachshasta. The EHV uses the names of the Persian kings that have become the standard English names. These names derive from the Greek versions of the names rather than directly from the Hebrew or Persian forms of the names.
- Nehemiah 2:7 That is, the territory west of the Euphrates River, Syria-Palestine
- Nehemiah 2:10 Literally servant. The Hebrew term here refers to a government official of secondary rank.
- Nehemiah 2:13 Or Serpent Well or Dragon Well
- Nehemiah 3:2 The Hebrew of the list in verses 2-32 alternates between plural and singular pronouns and verbs, sometimes referring to the leader, sometimes to the group working under him. The EHV uses whichever forms sound natural in English with the nearest antecedent. The EHV also adds a direct object to the verb when English usage requires an object.
- Nehemiah 3:3 Sena’ah is a town not a person, so sons is translated citizens.
- Nehemiah 3:5 Or Lord. It is not clear whether this refers to Nehemiah the governor or to God.
- Nehemiah 3:8 The Hebrew verb azav usually means abandon. The part of Jerusalem on the Western Hill, which had been enclosed by the Broad Wall, was not included in the reconstruction. If we take azav in the rare meaning rebuild, and we translate they rebuilt Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall, this would not change the meaning, since it would mean that they rebuilt up to, but not including, the Broad Wall.
- Nehemiah 3:13 Hebrew one thousand cubits
- Nehemiah 3:15 That is, the Pool of Siloam
- Nehemiah 3:16 Or official
- Nehemiah 3:18 Binnui is the reading of some Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek and Syriac versions. The variant Bavvi is supported by most Hebrew manuscripts. The lists of names in Ezra and Nehemiah contain many variant spellings. The translation notes do not list all of them.
- Nehemiah 3:19 Or official, but in English the chief official of a city is called the mayor.
- Nehemiah 3:24 Or and to the Corner. It is not certain whether the Angle and the Corner are two places or one.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.