Ezr 9 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now when these things had been completed , the officials approached me, saying , “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands , as 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 officials approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not ^aseparated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^bas 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}line has ^fintermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the officials and the leaders have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness.” 3 When I heard about this matter, I ^gtore my garment and my robe, and pulled out some of the hair from my head and my beard, and ^hsat down ^{▼▼Or shattered}appalled. 4 Then ^jeveryone who was frightened by the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat ^{▼▼Or shattered}appalled until ^lthe evening offering.

Prayer of Confession

5 But at the evening offering I stood up from my ^{▼▼Or penitence}humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down on my knees and ⁿspread out my ^{▼▼Lit palms}hands to the Lord my God; 6 and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongful deeds have ^{▼▼Lit increased over the head}risen above our heads, and our ^qguilt has grown even to the heavens. 7 ^rSince the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our wrongful deeds we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to ^{▼▼Lit shame of faces
,} ^topen shame, as it is this day. 8 But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, ^uto leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a ^{▼▼I.e., a foothold
,} ^wpeg in His holy place, so that our God may ^xenlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 ^yFor we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not abandoned us, but ^zhas extended favor to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to erect the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

10 “And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have abandoned 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 ^aawith their impurity. 12 So now do not ^abgive your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons, and ^acnever seek their peace or their prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, and ^adleave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’ 13 And after everything that has come upon us for our evil deeds and ^aeour great guilt, since You our God have spared us by inflicting less than our wrongdoing deserves, and have given us such ^afan escaped remnant as this, 14 ^agshall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples ^{▼▼Lit of these abominations}who commit these abominations? ^aiWould You not be angry with us ^{▼▼Lit to destroy}to the point of destruction, until there would be no remnant nor any who would escape? 15 Lord God of Israel, ^akYou are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in ^alour guilt, for ^amno one can stand before You because of this.”