63
All those who had returned from exile offered sacrifices to the Lord God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-two lambs, and twelve male goats as a well-being offering—all as a sacrifice to the Lord.
64
They delivered the king's orders to the royal managers and to the commanders of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia. These officials honored the people and the Lord's temple.
65
After these things happened, the leaders came to me and said,
66
"The people of Israel, the rulers, the priests, and the Levites haven't separated themselves from the impurities in the foreign neighboring peoples: the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Edomites.
67
They and their families have intermarried with their daughters, and the holy nation has been intermixed with the land's foreigners. The leaders and the officials have been sharing in this unlawful practice right from the start."