Ezra 10

10 ¹As Ezra prayed, confessed, wept, and fell before the house of our Father, a huge assembly of Israel—men, women, children—gathered to him, and the people wept bitterly. ²Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of Elam's descendants, said to Ezra, "We have broken faith with our Father and married foreign women from the peoples of the land. Yet there's still hope for Israel despite this. ³So now, let's covenant with our Father to send away all these wives and their children, as advised by my lord and those who tremble at our Father's command; let it be done by the Law. ⁴Get up, for this matter rests on you, and we are with you. Be strong and act."

⁵Ezra then stood and had the chief priests, Levites, and all Israel swear to do as agreed. They took the oath.

⁶Then Ezra rose from before the house of our Father and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, staying the night without bread or water, for he mourned over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. ⁷Then they sent word through Judah and Jerusalem for all the returned exiles to gather at Jerusalem. ⁸Whoever failed to come within three days, by decision of the officials and elders, forfeited all his property and was excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹All the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within three days—on the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat in the square before the house of our Father, trembling over this matter and the heavy rains.

¹⁰Ezra the priest rose and said to them, "You have been unfaithful, marrying foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt. ¹¹Now confess to our Father, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women."

¹²Then the whole assembly answered with a loud voice, "Yes! We must do as you have said. ¹³But the people are many, and it's the rainy season, so we can't stand outside. This isn't a job of one or two days, for we've sinned greatly in this matter. ¹⁴Let our leaders act for the whole assembly. Let all in our towns who married foreign women come at set times, with each town's elders and judges, until our Father's burning anger over this matter turns from us."

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

¹⁶So the exiles did this. Ezra the priest chose men, heads of fathers' houses, each named, for their father's house. On the first day of the tenth month they sat to examine the matter, ¹⁷by day one of the first month, they finished with all the men who had married foreign women.

Those Who Had Broken Faith

¹⁸Among the priests' sons found to have married foreign women: sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers—Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

¹⁹They pledged to send away their wives; guilty, they offered a ram from 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, Malchijah, 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: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

²⁹Of the sons of Bani: 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, and 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 them had wives by whom they had children.