Ezra 10

¹While Ezra prayed and made confession , weeping and casting himself down 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 .

²And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel , of the sons of Elam , addressed Ezra : 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 .

³Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children , according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God , and let it be done according to the Law .

⁴Arise , for it is your task , and we are with you; be strong and do it.

⁵Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath that they would do as had been said . So they took the oath .

⁶Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib , where he spent the night , neither eating bread nor drinking water , for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles .

⁷And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem ,

⁸and 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 .

⁹Then 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 heavy rain .

¹⁰And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, You have broken faith and married foreign women , and so increased the guilt of Israel .

¹¹Now then make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will . Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives .

¹²Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice , It is so ; we must do as you have said .

¹³But 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 .

¹⁴Let our officials stand for the whole assembly . Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times , and with them the elders and judges of every city , until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.

¹⁵Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this , and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

¹⁶Then the returned exiles did so . Ezra the priest selected men , 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 ;

¹⁷and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women .

¹⁸Now 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 Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers .

¹⁹They pledged themselves to put away their wives , and their guilt offering was a ram of the flock for their guilt .

²⁰Of the sons of Immer : Hanani and Zebadiah .

²¹Of the sons of Harim : Maaseiah , Elijah , Shemaiah , Jehiel , and Uzziah .

²²Of the sons of Pashhur : Elioenai , Maaseiah , Ishmael , Nethanel , Jozabad , and Elasah .

²³Of the Levites : Jozabad , Shimei , Kelaiah (that is, Kelita ), Pethahiah , Judah , and Eliezer .

²⁴Of the singers : Eliashib . Of the gatekeepers : Shallum , Telem , and Uri .

²⁵And of Israel : of the sons of Parosh : Ramiah , Izziah , Malchijah , Mijamin , Eleazar , Hashabiah , and Benaiah .

²⁶Of the sons of Elam : Mattaniah , Zechariah , Jehiel , Abdi , Jeremoth , and Elijah .

²⁷Of the sons of Zattu : Elioenai , Eliashib , Mattaniah , Jeremoth , Zabad , and Aziza .

²⁸Of the sons of Bebai were Jehohanan , Hananiah , Zabbai , and Athlai .

²⁹Of the sons of Bani were Meshullam , Malluch , Adaiah , Jashub , Sheal , and Jeremoth .

³⁰Of the sons of Pahath-moab : Adna , Chelal , Benaiah , Maaseiah , Mattaniah , Bezalel , Binnui , and Manasseh .

³¹Of the sons of Harim : Eliezer , Isshijah , Malchijah , Shemaiah , Shimeon ,

³²Benjamin , Malluch , and Shemariah .

³³Of the sons of Hashum : Mattenai , Mattattah , Zabad , Eliphelet , Jeremai , Manasseh , and Shimei .

³⁴Of the sons of Bani : Maadai , Amram , Uel ,

³⁵Benaiah , Bedeiah , Cheluhi ,

³⁶Vaniah , Meremoth , Eliashib ,

³⁷Mattaniah , Mattenai , Jaasu .

³⁸Of the sons of Binnui : Shimei ,

³⁹Shelemiah , Nathan , Adaiah ,

⁴⁰Machnadebai , Shashai , Sharai ,

⁴¹Azarel , Shelemiah , Shemariah ,

⁴²Shallum , Amariah , and Joseph .

⁴³Of the sons of Nebo : Jeiel , Mattithiah , Zabad , Zebina , Jaddai , Joel , and Benaiah .

⁴⁴All these had married foreign women , and some of the women had even borne children .