Ezr 7:10, Ezr 8-10, Neh 8:2-9 | ESV | STEP | For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord , and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel .

1 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: 2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of ^cIthamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, ^dHattush. 3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of ^eParosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. 4 ^fOf the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. 5 Of the sons of Zattu, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks of Zattu} Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. 6 Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. 7 Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men. 8 Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. 9 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men. 10 Of the sons of Bani, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Bani} Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. 11 ⁱOf the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men. 12 Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men. 13 Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. 14 Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

Ezra Sends for Levites

15 I gathered them to the river that runs to ^jAhava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there ^knone of the sons of Levi. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and ^lMeshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight, 17 and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks and} the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God. 18 And ⁿby the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of ^oMahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; 19 also ^pHashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of ^qthe sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; 20 ^rbesides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all ^smentioned by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

21 ^tThen I proclaimed a fast there, at the river ^uAhava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, ^vto seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ^w“The hand of our God is for good on ^xall who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Priests to Guard Offerings

24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: ^ySherebiah, ^zHashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. 25 And I weighed out to them the ^aasilver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his ^abcounselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. 26 ^acI weighed out into their hand 650 talents ^{▼▼A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms} of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, ^{▼▼Revocalization; the number is missing in the Masoretic Text} and 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, ^{▼▼A daric was a coin weighing about 1/4 ounce or 8.5 grams} and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, ^ag“You are holy to the Lord, and ^ahthe vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, ^aiwithin the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites ^ajtook over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

31 Then we departed from the river Ahava ^akon the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. ^alThe hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. 32 ^amWe came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. 33 On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were ^anweighed into the hands of ^aoMeremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, ^apJozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of ^aqBinnui. 34 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

35 At that time ^arthose who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, ^astwelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 ^atThey also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s ^ausatraps ^{▼▼A satrap was a Persian official} and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.

Ezra 9

Ezra Prays About Intermarriage

1 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the ^awLevites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands ^axwith their abominations, from the ^ayCanaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 ^azFor they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the ^baholy race ^{▼▼Hebrew offspring} has ^bcmixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I ^bdtore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and ^besat appalled. 4 Then all who ^bftrembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat ^bgappalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the ^bhevening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment ^biand my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees ^bjand spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities ^bkhave risen higher than our heads, and our ^blguilt has ^bmmounted up to the heavens. 7 ^bnFrom the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great ^boguilt. And for 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, to plundering, ^bpand to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a ^bqremnant and to give us a ^brsecure hold ^{▼▼Hebrew nail, or tent-pin} within his holy place, that our God may ^btbrighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 ^buFor we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, ^bvbut has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection ^{▼▼Hebrew a wall} in Judea and Jerusalem.

10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with ^bxtheir uncleanness. 12 ^byTherefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land ^bzand leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for ^caour great guilt, seeing that you, our ^cbGod, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a ^ccremnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and ^cdintermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us ^ceuntil you consumed us, so that there should be no ^cfremnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a ^cgremnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our ^chguilt, ^cifor none can stand before you because of this.”

Ezra 10

The People Confess Their Sin

1 ^cjWhile Ezra prayed and ^ckmade confession, weeping and ^clcasting himself down ^cmbefore the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. 2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: ^cn“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. 3 Therefore ^colet us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and ^cptheir children, according to the counsel of my lord ^{▼▼Or of the Lord} and of ^crthose who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done ^csaccording to the Law. 4 Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; ^ctbe strong and do it.” 5 Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel ^cutake an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.

6 Then Ezra withdrew ^cvfrom before the house of God and went to the ^cwchamber of ^cxJehohanan the son of ^cyEliashib, where he spent the night, ^{▼▼Probable reading; Hebrew where he went} neither ^daeating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. 7 And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8 and 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.

9 Then 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 ^dbheavy rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have broken faith and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. 11 Now then ^dcmake confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will. ^ddSeparate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” 12 Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said. 13 But 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. 14 Let our officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come ^deat appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, ^dfuntil the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.” 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and ^dgMeshullam and ^dhShabbethai the Levite supported them.

16 Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, ^{▼▼Syriac; Hebrew And there were selected Ezra . . .} 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; 17 and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.

Those Guilty of Intermarriage

18 Now 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 ^djJeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers. 19 They ^dkpledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was ^dla ram of the flock for their guilt. ^{▼▼Or as their reparation} 20 ^dnOf the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. 21 ^doOf the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. 22 Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

23 Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 24 Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

25 And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew Malchijah} and Benaiah. 26 Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. 27 Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. 28 Of the sons of Bebai were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. 29 Of the sons of Bani were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. 30 Of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh. 31 Of the ^dqsons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. 33 Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. 34 Of the sons of ^drBani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu. 38 Of the sons of Binnui: ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew Bani, Binnui} Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. 43 Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. 44 All these had married foreign women, and some of the women ^dthad even borne children. ^{▼▼Or and they put them away with their children}

Nehemiah 8:2-9

2 So Ezra the priest ^dvbrought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, ^dwon the first day of the seventh month. 3 ^dxAnd he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ^dy“Amen, Amen,” ^dzlifting up their hands. ^eaAnd they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 ^ebAlso Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, ^{▼▼Vulgate; Hebrew and the Levites} ^edhelped the people to understand the Law, ^eewhile the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, ^{▼▼Or with interpretation, or paragraph by paragraph} and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

This Day Is Holy

9 And Nehemiah, who was ^egthe governor, and Ezra ^ehthe priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ^ei“This day is holy to the Lord your God; ^ejdo not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.