Ezr 7-10 | ESV | STEP | Now after this , in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia , Ezra the son of Seraiah , son of Azariah , son of Hilkiah ,

1 Now after this, ^ain the reign of ^bArtaxerxes king of Persia, ^cEzra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe ^dskilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, ^efor the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

7 And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and ^fsome of the priests and ^gLevites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple ^hservants. 8 And Ezra ^{▼▼Aramaic he} came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^jfor the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it ^kand to ^lteach his statutes and rules in Israel.

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, ^mking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the ⁿscribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. ^{▼▼Aramaic Perfect (probably a greeting)} ^pAnd now 13 ^qI make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king ^rand his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and also to carry the silver and gold that the king ^sand his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^twhose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 ^uwith all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and ^vwith the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^wyou shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king’s treasury.

21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to 100 talents ^{▼▼A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms} of silver, 100 cors ^{▼▼A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters} of wheat, 100 baths ^{▼▼A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters} of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose ^aatribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

25 “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, ^abappoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. ^acAnd those who do not know them, you shall teach. 26 Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”

27 ^adBlessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^aewho put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, 28 ^afand who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Ezra 8

Genealogy of Those Who Returned with Ezra

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 ^agIthamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, ^ahHattush. 3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of ^aiParosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. 4 ^ajOf 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 ^amOf 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 ^anAhava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there ^aonone of the sons of Levi. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and ^apMeshullam, 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 ^arby the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of ^asMahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; 19 also ^atHashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of ^authe sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; 20 ^avbesides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all ^awmentioned by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

21 ^axThen I proclaimed a fast there, at the river ^ayAhava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, ^azto 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, ^ba“The hand of our God is for good on ^bball 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: ^bcSherebiah, ^bdHashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. 25 And I weighed out to them the ^besilver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his ^bfcounselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. 26 ^bgI 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, ^bk“You are holy to the Lord, and ^blthe 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, ^bmwithin the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites ^bntook 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 ^boon the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. ^bpThe hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. 32 ^bqWe 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 ^brweighed into the hands of ^bsMeremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, ^btJozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of ^buBinnui. 34 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

35 At that time ^bvthose who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, ^bwtwelve 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 ^bxThey also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s ^bysatraps ^{▼▼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 ^caLevites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands ^cbwith their abominations, from the ^ccCanaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 ^cdFor they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the ^ceholy race ^{▼▼Hebrew offspring} has ^cgmixed 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 ^chtore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and ^cisat appalled. 4 Then all who ^cjtrembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat ^ckappalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the ^clevening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment ^cmand my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees ^cnand 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 ^cohave risen higher than our heads, and our ^cpguilt has ^cqmounted up to the heavens. 7 ^crFrom the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great ^csguilt. 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, ^ctand 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 ^curemnant and to give us a ^cvsecure hold ^{▼▼Hebrew nail, or tent-pin} within his holy place, that our God may ^cxbrighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 ^cyFor we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, ^czbut 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 ^dbtheir uncleanness. 12 ^dcTherefore 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 ^ddand leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for ^deour great guilt, seeing that you, our ^dfGod, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a ^dgremnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and ^dhintermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us ^diuntil you consumed us, so that there should be no ^djremnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a ^dkremnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our ^dlguilt, ^dmfor none can stand before you because of this.”

Ezra 10

The People Confess Their Sin

1 ^dnWhile Ezra prayed and ^domade confession, weeping and ^dpcasting himself down ^dqbefore 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: ^dr“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 ^dslet us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and ^dttheir children, according to the counsel of my lord ^{▼▼Or of the Lord} and of ^dvthose who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done ^dwaccording to the Law. 4 Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; ^dxbe strong and do it.” 5 Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel ^dytake an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.

6 Then Ezra withdrew ^dzfrom before the house of God and went to the ^eachamber of ^ebJehohanan the son of ^ecEliashib, where he spent the night, ^{▼▼Probable reading; Hebrew where he went} neither ^eeeating 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 ^efheavy 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 ^egmake confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will. ^ehSeparate 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 ^eiat appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, ^ejuntil 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 ^ekMeshullam and ^elShabbethai 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 ^enJeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers. 19 They ^eopledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was ^epa ram of the flock for their guilt. ^{▼▼Or as their reparation} 20 ^erOf the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. 21 ^esOf 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 ^eusons 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 ^evBani: 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 ^exhad even borne children. ^{▼▼Or and they put them away with their children}