15-Ezra.usfm.db

\c 3 

\p
\v 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his kinsmen the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his kinsmen arose and  built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings on it, as prescribed in the law of Moses the man of God.
\v 3 And they set up the altar in its place; for fear, because of the peoples dwelling in the land, had come upon them, but they  plucked up courage and offered burnt-offerings to Jehovah, even burnt-offerings morning and evening.
\v 4 And they kept the feast of booths as it is prescribed, and offered the fixed number of daily burnt-offerings according to  the direction for each day; 
\v 5 and afterward the continual burnt-offering, and the offerings of the new moons, and of all the sacred feasts of Jehovah, and for every one who offered a freewill  offering to Jehovah.
\v 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt-offerings to Jehovah; but the foundation of the temple of  Jehovah was not yet laid. 
\p
\v 7 They also gave money to the masons and to the carpenters, and food, and drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to  bring cedar-trees from Lebanon on the sea to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
\p
\v 8 And in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second day of the month, Zerubbabel the son  of Sheatiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their kinsmen the priests and the Levites, and all who had come from  the captivity to Jerusalem, began and laid the foundation of the house of God on the first day of the second month of the second  year after they had come to Judah and Jerusalem.And they appointed the Levites, who were twenty years old and over, to have the  oversight of the work of the temple of Jehovah.
\v 9 Then Jeshua arose with his sons and his kinsmen, and Kadmiel his brother and the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad,  with their sons and their kinsmen the Levites, to have together the oversight of the workmen in the house of God.
\v 10 And when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of Jehovah, the priests stood in their official robes with  trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals to praise Jehovah, according to the directions of David king of Israel.
\v 11 And they sang responsively songs of praise and thanksgiving to Jehovah, saying, For he is good, for his loving-kindness is  ever over Israel. And all the people raised a great shout of rejoicing, because the foundation of the temple of Jehovah had been  laid.
\v 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of father's houses and the old men, who had seen the first temple, when the  foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes, wept loudly, while many shouted aloud for joy, 
\v 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people; for the  people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

\c 4

\p
\v 1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to Jehovah,  the God of Israel, 
\v 2 they drew near to Zerubbabel and to Jeshua and to the heads of fathers' houses, and said to them, Let us build with you;  for we worship your God, as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of  Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.
\v 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the fathers' houses said to them, You have nothing to do with us in building a  temple to Jehovah our God; but we ourselves will build to Jehovah the God of Israel, as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.
\v 4 Then the peoples of the land continually weakened the energies of the people of Judah, and frightened them out of building,
\v 5 and kept hiring counsellors against them to frustrate their plan, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign  of Darius king of Persia.
\p
\v 7 Now in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia.
\v 8a And Rehum the commander and Shimshai the recorder 
\v 9 and the rest of their associates, the judges, the rulers, the scribes, the Archevaites, the Babylonians, the men from Susa, that is the Elamites, 
\v 10 and the rest of the peoples whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal transported and settled in the city of Samaria and in the rest of the  province beyond the River, 
\v 8b wrote the letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes, as follows:
\p
\v 11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men of the province beyond the River. And now
\v 12 be it known at Jerusalem. This rebellious and bad city they are rebuilding and have finished its walls and repaired the foundations.
\v 13 And now be it known to the king, that, if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, they will not pay custom or toll, and it will  impair the royal income.
\v 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king suffer loss, therefore have we sent and informed the king,
\v 15 that search may be made in the books of the records of your fathers; then will you find in the books of the records and know that this  city is a rebellious city and one that brings harm to kings and provinces and that the Jews have been rebellious in it from ancient times,  for which cause this city was laid waste.
\v 16 Therefore now we declare to the king that, if this city is rebuilt, and its walls finished, you will have as a result no portion in the  lands beyond the River.
\p
\v 17 Then the king sent a message to Rehum the commander and to Shimshai the scribe and to the rest of their associates who dwelt in Samaria and in the rest of the province beyond the River: Greeting, and as follows:
\v 18 The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.  
\v 19 And I gave command and search has been made and it has been found that this city from ancient times has been rebellious against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been stirred up in it. 
\v 20 There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll   was paid to them. 
\v 21 Now give command that these men cease and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree shall be made by me.
\v 22 And be careful to make no mistake in the matter, that great harm may not be done, to the injury of the kings.
\p
\v 23 Then when the copy of King Artaxerxes's letter had been read to Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and by force and might made them cease.
\v 24 So the work on the house of God at Jerusalem ceased; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of  Persia.

\c 5

\p
\v 1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name  of the God of Israel who was over them.
\p
\v 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, supporting them.
\p
\v 3 At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them,  and spoke thus to them, Who gave you permission to build this temple and to finish this wall? 
\v 4 And who are the builders who are carrying this through? 
\v 5 But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they did not make them cease, until a report should come to Darius and a written decision concerning it be returned.
\p
\v 6 The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and his associates the  rulers of the province beyond the River, sent to Darius the king:
\p
\v 7 To Darius the king, greeting.
\v 8 Be it known to the king that we have gone into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, and this was built with huge stones and timber laid in the walls; and this work is being carefully done and is prospering in their hands.
\v 9 Then we asked those elders, saying, 'Who gave you permission to build this temple and to finish this wall? 
\v 10 We also asked them their names, in order to inform you, that we might record the names of the men who were at their head.
\v 11 And they gave us the following answer, 'We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are building the temple that was  built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.
\v 12 But after our fathers had provoked the wrath of the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon.
\v 13 But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.
\v 14 And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple at Jerusalem and brought to the  temple in Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple in Babylon, and they were delivered to one by the name of Sheshbazzar,  whom he had made governor.
\v 15 And he said to him, "Take these vessels, go, put them in the temple at Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place."
\v 16 Then this Sheshbazzar came, and laid the foundations of the house of God at Jeusalem. And since that time even until now it has  been building, and it is not yet completed.'
\v 17 Now therefore if it please the king, let search be made in the king's archives at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was  made by Cyrus to rebuild this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

\c 6

\p
\v 1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the archives where the official documents from Babylon had been deposited.
\v 2 And at Ecbatana, the royal palace in the province of Media, a roll was found and in it was thus written: A record: 
\v 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: 'Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem let the house be rebuilt, where they offer sacrifices and bring him offerings made by fire; its height shall be sixty cubits, and its breadth sixty cubits.
\v 4 It shall be constructed with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timber; and let the expenses be paid out of the king's  treasury.
\v 5 Also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple at Jerusalem and brought to Babylon,  be restored and brought to the temple which is at Jerusalem, each to its place; and you shall put them in the house of God.'
\p
\v 6 Now therefore, Tatteni, governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and the rulers of the province beyond the River, go away from there; 
\v 7 let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God in its place.
\v 8 Moreover I make a decree in regard to what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: that out of the king's wealth from the tribute of the province beyond the River the expenses be exactly paid to these men, and that without delay.
\v 9 And whatever is needed, both young bullocks and rams and lambs for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven, also wheat, salt, wine, and  oil, according to the direction of the priests at Jerusalem, let it be given to them day by day without fail, 
\v 10 that they may regularly offer sacrifices of sweet savor to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and of his sons.
\v 11 Also I have made a decree, that whoever shall make this command invalid, a beam shall be pulled out from his house, and he shall be  impaled upon it, and his house shall for this be made a refuse-heap.
\v 12 And the God who hath caused his name to dwell there shall overthrow all kings and peoples who shall put forth their hand to make invalid the command or to destroy the house of God at Jerusalem. Exactly will it be executed.
\p
\v 13 Then Tatteni, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did exactly as Darius the king had given command.
\v 14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and according to the decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of  Persia.
\v 15 And this temple was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
\p
\v 16 Then the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
\v 17 And they offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundreds rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve he-goats for a sin-offering for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 
\v 18 And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as is prescribed in the  book of Moses. 
\p
\v 19 And the returned exiles kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.
\v 20 For the priests and the Levites had every one of them purified themselves; all of them were ceremonially clean. And they killed the passover for al the returned exiles, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
\v 21 And the Israelites who had come back from the captivity, and all those who separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples of the  land, to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, ate
\v 22 and kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy; for Jehovah had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

\c 7

\v 1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, there went up Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 
\v 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
\v 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son Meraioth, 
\v 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 
\v 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest.
\v 6 This Ezra went up from Babylon: and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all his request, inasmuch as the hand of Jehovah his God was upon him.
\v 7 And some of the Israelites, and of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the porters, and the temple servants  went up to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. 
\v 8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
\v 9 For on the first day of the first month he began the journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth  month he came to Jerusalem, since the good hand of God was with him.
\v 10 For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to observe it and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.
\p
\v 11 Now this the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, who copied the words of the commands of Jehovah and of his statutes to Israel:
\p
\v 12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, greeting.
\v 13 And now I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel, or their priests or Levites in my realm, who is willing to go to Jerusalem, shall go with you.
\v 14 Because you have been sent by the king and his seven counsellors, to institute an inquiry concerning Judah  and Jerusalem on the basis of the law of your God which is in your hand 
\v 15 and to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counsellors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 
\v 16 with all the silver and gold that you shall receive in all the province of Babylon, with the contributions of  the people and priests, who contribute for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem, 
\v 17 therefore you shall carefully buy with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their cereal-offerings and their  libations, and shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.
\v 18 And whatever shall seem good to you and to your kinsmen to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, so do  according to the will of your God. 
\v 19 And the vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, deliver them all before your God at Jerusalem.
\v 20 And whatever more shall be needed for the house of your God, which you shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it  out of the king's treasury. 
\v 21 And the decree is given by me, Artaxerxes the king, to all the treasures of the province beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, let it be carefully done,
\v 22 up to a hundred talents of silver, a thousand bushels of wheat, eight hundred gallons of wine, eight hundred  gallons of oil, and salt to any amount.
\v 23 All that is commanded by the God of heaven must be exactly done for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
\v 24 Also be it known to you that it is not lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on any priests, Levites, singers, porters, temple-servants, or servants of this house of God.
\v 25 And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in you, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the  people beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God, and teach such  as do know them.
\v 26 And whoever will not obey the law of your God, and the law of the king, let strict justice be executed upon him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of gods, or imprisonment.
\p
\v 27 Blessed be Jehovah the God of our fathers, who hath put such a thing as this into the king's heart, to beautify the temple of Jehovah which is at Jerusalem.
\v 28 and hath granted me favor before the king and his counsellor and before all the king's high officials. And I was  strengthened, since the hand of Jehovah my God was with me, and I gathered chief men from Israel to go up with me.

\c 8

\p
\v 1 Now these are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from  Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:
\v 2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush
\v 3 the son of Shecaniah. Of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were reckoned by genealogy a hundred and fifty men. 
\v 4 Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men. 
\v 5 Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred men.
\v 6 And of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty men.
\v 7 And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him eighty men.
\v 9 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen men.
\v 10 And of the sons of Banias, Shelomith the son of Jesiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty men.
\v 11 And of the sons of Babai, Zechariah the son of Babai, and with him twenty-eight men. 
\v 12 And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten men.
\v 13 And the sons of Adonikam, the last, and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty men.
\v 14 And of the sons of Bigyai, Uthai and Zakkur, and with them seventy men.
\p
\v 15 And I gathered them together to the river that flows toward Ahava. And there we encamped there none of the sons of Levi.
\v 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shamaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, chief men; also for  Joiarib, and Elnathan, who were teachers.
\v 17 And I sent them out to Iddo, the chief of the place Casiphia. And I instructed them what they should say to Iddo and his kinsmen at the place Casiphia, namely, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.
\v 18 And since the good hand of our God was with us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of  Levi, the son of Israel: Sherebiah, with his sons and his kinsmen, eighteen;
\v 19 and Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, their kinsmen and their sons, twenty; 
\v 20 and of the temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty; all of them were mentioned by name.
\p
\v 21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the River Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek of him a  fortunate journey for us and for our little ones and for all our possessions.
\v 22 For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on the journey,  because we had spoken to the king, saying, 'The hand of our God is with all who seek him for good, but his power and his wrath is against all them who forsake him.'
\v 23 So we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was entreated by us.
\p
\v 24 Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, and Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their clansmen with them,
\v 25 and weighed to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counsellors and his princes and all Israel there present had offered.
\v 26 I weighed into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels, a hundred talents, of gold a  hundred talents; 
\v 27 and twenty bowls of gold of a thousand darics; and ten vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold.
\v 28 And  said to them, You are holy to Jehovah, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a contribution  to Jehovah, the God of our fathers.
\v 29 Guard and keep them until you weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites and the head of the fathers' houses of Israel at Jerusalem in the chamber of the temple of Jehovah.
\v 30 So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God. 
\v 31 Then we departed from the River Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem.
\p And the hand of our God was upon us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the lier-in-wait by the way.
\v 32 And when we arrived at Jerusalem, we remained there three days.
\v 33 And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the  hands of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levites.
\v 34 The whole was delivered by number and by weight, and the weight of everything was recorded.
\p At that time
\v 35 the people who had returned from exile offered burnt-offering to the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering; all this was a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
\v 36 And they delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps and to the governors of the province beyond the River. And the aided the people and the house of God.

\c 9

\p
\v 1 Now when these things had been done, the nobles drew near to me and said. 'The people of Israel and the nobles and the  priests and the Levites have not kept themselves apart from the peoples of the lands, from their abominations, even from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
\v 2 For they have taken of their daughters wives for themselves and their sons, so that they, the holy race, have mixed  themselves with the peoples of the lands, and the hand of the nobles and rulers has been most prominent in this impiety.'
\v 3 And when I heard this, I tore my inner-garment and my robe, and pulled the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down dumbfounded.
\v 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the impiety of those who had returned from the captivity, gathered about me as I dumbfounded until the evening oblation.
\p
\v 5 And at evening I arose from my self-humiliation, and I tore my inner-garment and my robe, and fell upon my knees  and spread out of my hands to Jehovah
\v 6 and said, 'O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our head and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. 
\v 7 Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been implicated in great guilt; and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests, have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the lands, by the sword, captivity, plunder, and confusion of face, as it is this day.
\v 8 And now for a brief moment grace hath been showed from Jehovah our God, in that he has left us a remnant to escape,  and given us a respite in his holy place that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little renewal of life in  our bondage.
\v 9 For we are bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended to us favor in the sight of the kings of Persia to give us a renewal of life, to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
\v 10 And now, O our God, what shal we say after all this? For we have forsaken thy commands,
\v 11 which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, "The land which we go to possess, is an unclean land because of the uncleanness of the peoples of the land, because of their abominable practices, which have filled it from one to another with their filth.
\v 12 Now therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters as wives for your sons, nor seek their peace of their prosperity forever, that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever."
\v 13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since thou, our God, hast punished us  less than our iniquities deserve, and has given us such a remnant as this,
\v 14 shall we again break thy commands and intermarry with the peoples who do these abominable act? Wouldest not thou be  angry with us until thou hadst consumed us, so that there would be no remnant nor any to escape?
\v 15 O Jehovah, the God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is this day. Now we are before thee in our guilt, for none can stand before thee because of this.'

\c 10

\p
\v 1 Now while Ezra was making supplication and confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people wept loudly.
\v 2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke and said to Ezra, We have committed an impiety against our God and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land, yet in this matter there is yet hope for Israel.
\v 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the foreign wives and those who have been born of them,  according to the counsel of my lord and of those who revere the command of our God, and let it be done according to the law.
\v 4 Arise, carry into execution, for it is your task, and we are with you; be of good courage and act.
\v 5 Then Ezra arose and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel take oath that they would do according to this word. So they took oath.
\v 6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehonanan the son of Eliashib, and spent the  night there, neither eating bread nor drinking water, for he mourned because of the impiety of those who had returned from the captivity.
\v 7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together at Jerusalem.
\v 8 And that whoever did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the nobles and the elders, all his possessions should not be placed under the ban and he should be excluded from the assembly of the captivity.
\p
\v 9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves to Jerusalem within the three days, that is on the twentieth day  of the ninth month. And all the people sat in the open space before the house of God, trembling on account of the subject itself  and also because of the pouring rain.
\v 10 The Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, You have committed an act of impiety and have married foreign women to increase the guilt of Israel.
\v 11 Now therefore make confession to Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and do his will and separate yourselves from the peoples of  the land and from the foreign women. 
\v 12 Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, We must do as you have said concerning us.
\v 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of the autumn rain, and we cannot stand outside, and this is not a work of one day  or two, for we have committed great impiety in this matter.
\v 14 Let now our nobles represent all the assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign women come at appointed times and with them the elders of each city and its judges, until the fierce wrath of our God because of this matter be turned from us.
\v 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jazeiah the son of Tikyah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.
\v 16 TBut those who had returned from the captivity acted according to the will of the assembly.
\p And Ezra the priest selected certain heads of fathers' houses according to their fathers' houses, and all of them were named by  name; and they held a sitting on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 
\v 17 And they completed the investigation of all the men who had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.
\p
\v 18 And among the sons of the priests who had married foreign women were found the sons of Jozadak and his clansmen: Maaseiah,  Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
\v 19 And they gave their hand that they should put away their wives; and their guilt-offering was a ram of the flock for their guilt.
\v 20 And of the sons of Immer, Hanani and Zebadiah. 
\v 21 And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
\v 22 And of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishamael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
\v 23 And of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
\v 24 And of the singers: Eliashib and Zaccur. And of the porters: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
\p
\v 25 And of Israel: Of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Michaiah and Benaiah.
\v 26 And of the sons of Elam: Mataniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
\v 27 And of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. 
\v 28 And of the sons of Babai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai.
\v 29 And of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Adaiah. Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
\v 30 And of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
\v 31 And of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 
\v 32 Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah.
\v 33 Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattatah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei.
\v 34 Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Joel,
\v 35 Banaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 
\v 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
\v 37 Shelemiah, Nathan Adaiah, 
\v 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 
\v 41 Azarel, shelemiah, Shemariah, 
\v 42 Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.
\v 43 Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo, Joel, Benaiah.
\v 44 All these had taken foreign wives; and they sent them away with their children.