CHAPTER 10

¹And as Ezra prayed and as he confessed, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very great assembly of Israel gathered round him, men and women and children, for the people were bitterly weeping. ²And Shechaniah son of Jehiel from the sons of Elam spoke out and said to Ezra, “We have betrayed our God and brought back foreign wives, but now there is hope for Israel concerning this. ³And now, let us seal a covenant with our God to send away all the wives and those born by them according to the counsel of the Master and of those trembling for the command of our God, and let it be done according to the Teaching. ⁴Arise, for the matter is for you to do, and we are with you. Be strong and act.” ⁵And Ezra arose and made the officials of the priests and the Levites and all the people swear to do this thing, and they swore. ⁶And Ezra arose before the house of God and went to the chamber of Johanan son of Eliashib and went there. Bread he did not eat nor water did he drink, for he was mourning over the betrayal by the exiles. ⁷And they sent out a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles to gather in Jerusalem. ⁸And whoever would not come for the three days according to the counsel of the nobles and the elders, all his property would be seized and he would be kept apart from the assembly of the exiles. ⁹And all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem for the three days, which was in the ninth month on the twentieth of the month. And all the people sat in the square of the house of God shaking because of the matter and because of the rains. ¹⁰And Ezra the priest arose and said to them, “You have betrayed and brought back foreign wives to add to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹And now, confess to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will, and keep yourselves apart from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” ¹²And all the assembly answered and said in a loud voice, “Thus, according to your words we must do. ¹³But the people are many, and it is the rainy season, and there is no strength to stand outside, and the task is not for one day nor for years, for we have greatly trespassed in this matter. ¹⁴Let our nobles, pray, stand forth for all the assembly and for all who are in our towns who have brought back foreign wives. Let them come at set times, and with them the elders of each town and its judges until the smoldering wrath of our God over this matter is turned back.” ¹⁵But Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahaziah son of Tikvah stood forth for this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite aided them. ¹⁶And so the exiles did. And Ezra the priest and men who were the patriarchal chiefs according to their patriarchal houses kept themselves apart and all were listed by name. And they sat on the first day of the tenth month to inquire into the matter. ¹⁷And they finished with all the men who had brought back foreign wives by the first day of the first month. ¹⁸And there were found from the sons of the priests that had brought back foreign wives from the sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers, Maaseiah and Eliezer and Jarib and Gedaliah. ¹⁹And they pledged to send away their wives, and guilty, to offer a ram from the flock for their guilt. ²⁰And from the sons of Immer, Hanani, and Zebadiah. ²¹And from the sons of Harim Maaseiah and Eliah and Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah. ²²And from the sons of Pashhur, Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. ²³And from the Levites, Jozabad and Shimei and Kelaiah—he from Kelita—Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. ²⁴And from the choristers, Eliashib, and from the gatekeepers, Shallum and Telem and Uri. ²⁵And from Israel, from the sons of Parosh, Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah and Mijamin and Eleazar and Malchijah and Benaiah. ²⁶And from the sons of Elam, Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel and Abdi and Jeremoth and Eliah. ²⁷And from the sons of Zattu, Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth and Zabad and Aziza. ²⁸And from the sons of Bebai, Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai. ²⁹And from the sons of Bani, Meshullam, Malluch and Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. ³⁰And from the sons of Pahath-Moab, Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezabel, and Binnui and Manasseh. ³¹And from the sons of Harim, Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Simeon; ³²Benjamin, Mallush, Shemariah. ³³From the sons of Hashum, Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei. ³⁴From the sons of Bani, Maadi, Amram, and Uel, ³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhu, ³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasai, ³⁸and Bani and Binnui and Shimei, ³⁹and Shelemiah and Nathan and Adaiah, ⁴⁰Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹Azarel, Shelemiah, and Shemariah, ⁴²Shallum, Amariah, Joseph. ⁴³From the sons of Nebo, Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. ⁴⁴All these had married foreign wives, and there were among them women who had children.