Ezr 9 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now when these things had been completed , the princes approached me, saying , “ The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands , according to their abominations , those of the Canaanites , the Hittites , the Perizzites , the Jebusites , the Ammonites , the Moabites , the Egyptians and the Amorites .

Ezra 9

Mixed Marriages

1 Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not ^aseparated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^baccording to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. 2 “For ^cthey have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that ^dthe holy ^{▼▼ Lit seed}race has ^fintermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.” 3 When I heard about this matter, I ^gtore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and ^hsat down appalled. 4 Then ⁱeveryone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until ^jthe evening offering.

Prayer of Confession

5 But at the evening offering I arose from my ^{▼▼ Or fasting}humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and ^lstretched out my ^{▼▼ Lit palms}hands to the Lord my God; 6 and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have ^{▼▼ Lit multiplied over the head}risen above our heads and our ^oguilt has grown even to the heavens. 7 ^p“Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of 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 and to plunder and to ^{▼▼ Lit shame of faces
,} ^ropen shame, as it is this day. 8 “But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, ^sto leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a ^tpeg in His holy place, that our God may ^uenlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 ^v“For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not forsaken us, but ^whas extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

10 “Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11 which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end and ^xwith their impurity. 12 ‘So now do not ^ygive your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters to your sons, and ^znever seek their peace or their prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and ^aaleave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’ 13 “After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and ^abour great guilt, since You our God have requited us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us ^acan escaped remnant as this, 14 ^adshall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples ^{▼▼ Lit of these abominations}who commit these abominations? ^afWould You not be angry with us ^{▼▼ Lit to destroy}to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant nor any who escape? 15 “O Lord God of Israel, ^ahYou are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in ^aiour guilt, for ^ajno one can stand before You because of this.”