Ezra 10

1 When Ezra had prayed, and when he had spoken out openly, weeping and praying before the house of God, a very great assembly gathered to him out of Israel — men and women and young men — for the people wept, and their weeping rose loud.

2 And Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, “We have broken faith with our God, and we have taken foreign wives from the peoples of the land. Yet even now there is hope for Israel in this. [a] 3 Now then, let us make a covenant with our God to send away all the wives and the children born of them, as you advise. Arise, and make them tremble at the commands of our God, and let it be done according to the law. [b] 4 Arise, for the matter rests on you, and we are with you. Be strong, and act.”

5 Then Ezra arose and made the leaders, the priests and the Levites and all Israel swear that they would act according to this word; and they swore. 6 And Ezra rose up from before the house of God and went to the treasury room of Johanan son of Eliashib; he went in there, and he ate no bread and drank no water, for he was mourning over the broken faith of those who had come back from exile.

7 And they sent word through Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the exile, that they should gather at Jerusalem, 8 and that anyone who did not come within three days, by the counsel of the leaders and the elders, would have everything he owned devoted to destruction, and would himself be separated from the assembly of the exiles. [c] 9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within the three days. This was the ninth month; on the twentieth day of the month all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, shaking over this matter and because of the winter rain. [d]

10 And Ezra the priest rose and said to them, “You have broken faith and have taken foreign wives, adding to the wrongdoing of Israel. 11 Now then, give praise to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do what pleases him: separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” [e]

12 And all the assembly answered and said, “This word of yours is a great thing, and it is ours to do. 13 But the people are many, and the season is winter, and there is no standing outside. And the work is not for one day, nor for two, for we have done great wrong in this matter. 14 Let our leaders stand for the whole assembly, and let everyone in our cities who has taken foreign wives come at set times, and with them the elders of each city and its judges, until the burning anger of our God over this matter is turned away from us.”

15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jaziah son of Tekoa were with me in this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. [f] 16 And the children of the exile did so. Ezra the priest and the men who were leaders of the families, house by house, were set apart, all of them by name; and they came back on the first day of the tenth month to search out the matter. 17 And they finished with all the men who had taken foreign wives by the first day of the first month.

18 And among the sons of the priests there were found men who had taken foreign wives: of the sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers — Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. 19 And they gave their hand that they would send their wives away, and they brought a ram from the flock as the offering for their wrongdoing. [g]

20 And of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. 21 And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah. [h] 22 And of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.

23 And of the Levites: Jozabad, Samu, Kolia — he is Kolitas — Pethahiah, Iodom and Eliezer. [i] 24 And of the singers: Eliasaph. And of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem and Odue. [j]

25 And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Jaziah, Malchijah, Miamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah and Benaiah. [k] 26 And of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jeiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah. [l] 27 And of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza. 28 And of the sons of Bebai: Johanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Othali. [m]

29 And of the sons of Binnui: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Saluia and Remoth. 30 And of the sons of Pahath-moab: Edene, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh. 31 And of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah. [n] 33 And of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabed, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei. [o]

34 Of the sons of Bani: Moodi, Amram, Uel, [p] 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelia, 36 Uiechoa, Jeremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai — and there also acted — [q] 38 the sons of Binnui and the sons of Shimei, 39 and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, 40 Machnadabu, Sesi, Saru, 41 Ezerel, and Shelemiah, and Shemariah, 42 and Shallum, Amariah, Joseph. 43 Of the sons of Nebo: Jehiel, Mattithiah, Sedem, Zambina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah. [r]

44 All these had taken foreign wives, and had fathered sons by them. [s]