|
Chapter 10 |
|
1 | Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he
had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there
assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and
children: for the people wept very sore. |
|
2 | And Shechaniah the son of
Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have
trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the
land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. |
| 3 | Now
therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and
such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those
that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the
law. |
| 4 |
Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be
with thee: be of good courage, and do it. |
|
5 | Then arose Ezra, and made
the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do
according to this word. And they sware. |
|
6 | Then Ezra rose up from
before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of
Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for
he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried
away. |
| 7 |
And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto
all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together
unto Jerusalem; |
|
8 | And that whosoever would not come within three days,
according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance
should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that
had been carried away. |
| 9 | Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin
gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth
month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street
of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great
rain. |
| 10 |
And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have
transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of
Israel. |
| 11
| Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your
fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the
land, and from the strange wives. |
| 12 | Then all the congregation
answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.
|
| 13 | But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not
able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are
many that have transgressed in this thing. |
|
14 | Let now our rulers of
all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in
our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and
the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned
from us. |
| 15
| Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of
Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite
helped them. |
|
16 | And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra
the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their
fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the
first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. |
| 17 | And they
made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of
the first month. |
|
18 | And among the sons of the priests there were found
that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak,
and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. |
| 19 |
And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being
guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. |
| 20 | And of
the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah. |
|
21 | And of the sons of Harim;
Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. |
| 22 | And of
the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and
Elasah. |
| 23
| Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah,
(the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. |
| 24 | Of the
singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.
|
| 25 | Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and
Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. |
| 26 | And
of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth,
and Eliah. |
| 27
| And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah,
and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. |
| 28 | Of the sons also of Bebai;
Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. |
|
29 | And of the sons of Bani;
Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. |
| 30 | And
of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah,
Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. |
| 31 | And of the sons of Harim;
Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, |
| 32 | Benjamin,
Malluch, and Shemariah. |
| 33 | Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah,
Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. |
| 34 | Of the sons
of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, |
| 35 | Benaiah, Bedeiah,
Chelluh, |
| 36
| Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, |
| 37 | Mattaniah,
Mattenai, and Jaasau, |
| 38 | And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, |
| 39 |
And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, |
| 40 | Machnadebai, Shashai,
Sharai, |
| 41
| Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, |
| 42 | Shallum,
Amariah, and Joseph. |
| 43 | Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah,
Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. |
|
44 | All these had taken
strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children. |
