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The Jews Not to Marry People Living in the Land

¹ Ezra was praying and telling their sins, and crying and lying on the ground before the house of God. Many people, men, women and children, gathered around him from Israel, for the people cried with many tears. ² Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have not been faithful to our God. We have married strange women from the people of the land. But even so, there is hope for Israel. ³ So let us make an agreement with our God to put away all the wives and their children. Let this be done by the wise words of my lord and of those who shake with fear at the Word of our God. And let it be done by the Law. ⁴ Get up, for this is your duty, but we will be with you. Have strength of heart and do it." ⁵ So Ezra got up and made the head religious leaders, the Levites and all Israel promise that they would do as he had said, and they promised.

⁶ Then Ezra got up from before the house of God and went into the room of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. He went there, but he did not eat bread or drink water, for he was filled with sorrow because the people who returned had not been faithful to God. ⁷ And it was made known to all the Jews who had returned to Judah and Jerusalem that they should gather together at Jerusalem. ⁸ Whoever would not come within three days, as the leaders had said, would have all he owned taken away from him. He would be sent away from the people who had returned from Babylon.

⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered together at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat in the open space before the house of God, shaking because of this trouble and because of much rain. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the religious leader stood up and said to them, "You have been sinful and have married wives of strange lands, adding to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ So now tell your sins to the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the strange wives." ¹² Then all the people answered with a loud voice, "That is right! We must do as you have said. ¹³ But there are many people, and there is much rain. We cannot stand in the open. This cannot be done in one or two days, for we have sinned very much. ¹⁴ Let our leaders speak for all the people. Then let all those in our cities who have married strange wives come at certain times, together with the leaders and judges of each city. Let this be done until the anger of our God, because of this sin, is turned away from us." ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah were against this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite following them.

¹⁶ But the other people who had returned from Babylon agreed to do this. Ezra the religious leader chose men who were leaders of family groups for each of their fathers' houses. Each of them were chosen by name. So they met together on the first day of the tenth month to look into the problem. ¹⁷ And by the first day of the first month, they finished finding the names of all the men who had married wives from the other nations.

¹⁸ Of the sons of the religious leaders who had married strange wives were found the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ They promised to put away their wives, and because they were guilty, they gave a ram of the flock for their sin. ²⁰ And there were Hanani and Zebadiah of the sons of Immer, ²¹ and Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah, of the sons of Harim, ²² and Elionai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah, of the sons of Pashur. ²³ Of the Levites there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ Of the singers there was Eliashib. Of the gate-keepers there were Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ Of Israel, there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah, of the sons of Parosh. ²⁶ There were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah, of the sons of Elam. ²⁷ There were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza, of the sons of Zattu. ²⁸ There were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai, of the sons of Bebai. ²⁹ There were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeramoth, of the sons of Bani. ³⁰ There were Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh, of the sons of Pahath-moab. ³¹ Of the sons of Harim, there were Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. ³³ There were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei, of the sons of Hashum. ³⁴ Of the sons of Bani, there were 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 And there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah, of the sons of Nebo. ⁴⁴ All these had married wives of the other nations, and some of the wives had given birth to children.