Ezra 10:1-17

Reconciliation with God

1 Now 1while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself 2before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly *.
2 Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, "3We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.
3 "So now 4let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and 5their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of 6those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done 7according to the law.
4 "Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; 8be courageous and act."
5 Then Ezra rose and 9made the leading priests, the Levites and all Israel, take oath that they would do according to this proposal; so they took the oath.
6 Then Ezra 10rose from before * the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went there, 11he did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles *, that they should assemble at Jerusalem,
8 and that whoever * would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, 12trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain.
10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel.
11 "Now therefore, 13make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and 14do His will; and 15separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives."
12 Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice, "That's right! As you have said, so it is our duty to do.
13 "But there are many people; it is the rainy season and we are not able to stand in the open. Nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.
14 "Let our leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the 16fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us."
15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.
16 But the exiles * did so. And Ezra the priest selected men who were heads of fathers' households for each of their father's households, all of them by name. So they convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter.
17 They finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first day of the first month.

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Cross References 16

  • 1. Daniel 9:4, 20
  • 2. 2 Chronicles 20:9
  • 3. Ezra 9:2; Nehemiah 13:27
  • 4. 2 Chronicles 34:31
  • 5. Ezra 10:44
  • 6. Ezra 9:4
  • 7. Deuteronomy 7:2, 3
  • 8. 1 Chronicles 28:10
  • 9. Nehemiah 5:12; Nehemiah 13:25
  • 10. Ezra 10:1
  • 11. Deuteronomy 9:18
  • 12. 1 Samuel 12:18; Ezra 9:4; Ezra 10:3
  • 13. Leviticus 26:40; Proverbs 28:13
  • 14. Romans 12:2
  • 15. Ezra 10:3
  • 16. 2 Kings 23:26; 2 Chronicles 28:11-13; 2 Chronicles 29:10; 2 Chronicles 30:8

Footnotes 10

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