The Bible in Basic English BBE
Orthodox Jewish Bible OJB
1 Now after these things were done, the captains came to me and said, The people of Israel and the priests and Levites have not kept themselves separate from the people of the lands, but have taken part in the disgusting ways of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
1
Now when these things were completed, the sarim came to me, saying, HaAm Yisroel, and the Kohanim, and the Levi’im, have not separated themselves from the Am HaAretz, doing according to their abominations, even of the Kena’ani, the Chitti, the Perizzi, the Yevusi, the Ammoni, the Moavi, the Egyptians, and the Emori.
2 For they have taken their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the peoples of the lands; and in fact the captains and rulers have been the first to do this evil.
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For they have taken of their banot for themselves, and for their banim, so that the zera hakodesh have mingled themselves with the Am HaAretz; yea, the yad of the sarim (princes) and officials hath been chief in this trespass.
3 And hearing this, with signs of grief and pulling out the hair of my head and my chin, I took my seat on the earth deeply troubled.
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And when I heard this thing, I made keriah of my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down appalled.
4 Then everyone who went in fear of the words of the God of Israel, because of the sin of those who had come back, came together to me; and I kept where I was, overcome with grief, till the evening offering.
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Then were assembled around me every one that trembled at the Divrei Elohei Yisroel, because of the transgression of those of the Golus; and I sat appalled until the minchat haerev.
5 And at the evening offering, having made myself low before God, I got up, and with signs of grief, falling down on my knees, with my hands stretched out to the Lord my God,
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And at the minchat haerev I arose up from my abasement, and having made the keriah of my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto Hashem Elohai,
6 I said, O my God, shame keeps me from lifting up my face to you, my God: for our sins are increased higher than our heads and our evil-doing has come up to heaven.
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And davened, O Elohai, I am ashamed and am disgraced to lift up my face to thee, Elohai, for avonoteinu are increased over our head, and ashmateinu (our guilt) is reached up unto Shomayim.
7 From the days of our fathers till this day we have been great sinners; and for our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been given up into the hands of the kings of the lands, to the sword and to prison and to loss of goods and to shame of face, as it is this day.
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Since the days of Avoteinu have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for avonoteinu have we, our melachim, and our Kohanim, been delivered into the hand of the melachim of the lands, to the cherev, to captivity, and to spoil, and to humiliation of face, as it is this day.
8 And now for a little time grace has come to us from the Lord our God, to let a small band of us get free and to give us a nail in his holy place, so that our God may give light to our eyes and a measure of new life in our prison chains.
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And now for a little space grace hath been shown from Hashem Eloheinu, to leave us to escape a she’ar (remnant), and to give us a peg in his Makom Kodesh, that Eloheinu may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
9 For we are servants; but our God has not been turned away from us in our prison, but has had mercy on us before the eyes of the kings of Persia, to give us new strength to put up again the house of our God and to make fair its waste places, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
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For we were avadim; yet Eloheinu hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended chesed unto us in the sight of the Melachim of Paras (Persia), to give us a reviving, to set up the Beis Eloheinu, and to repair the ruins thereof, and to give us a wall in Yehudah and in Yerushalayim.
10 And now, O our God, what are we to say after this? for we have not kept your laws,
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And now, O Eloheinu, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Thy mitzvot,
11 Which you gave to your servants the prophets, saying, The land into which you are going, to take it for a heritage, is an unclean land, because of the evil lives of the peoples of the land and their disgusting ways, which have made the land unclean from end to end.
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Which Thou hast commanded by Thy avadim the nevi’im, saying, HaAretz, unto which ye go to possess it, is an eretz niddah (unclean land) with the filthiness of the Am HaAretz, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their tum’a.
12 So now do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or do anything for their peace or well-being for ever; so that you may be strong, living on the good of the land, and handing it on to your children for a heritage for ever.
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Now therefore give not your banot unto their banim, neither take their banot unto your banim, nor further their shalom or their prosperity ad olam, that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land and leave it for your banim ad olam.
13 And after everything which has come on us because of our evil-doing and our great sin, and seeing that the punishment which you, O God, have given us, is less than the measure of our sins, and that you have kept from death those of us who are here;
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And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that Thou Eloheinu hast punished us less than avoneinu deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this,
14 Are we again to go against your orders, taking wives from among the people who do these disgusting things? would you not be angry with us till our destruction was complete, till there was not one who got away safe?
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Should we again break Thy mitzvot, and join in affinity with the people of these to’evot (abominations)? Wouldest not Thou be angry with us till Thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no she’erit (remnant) nor escaping?
15 O Lord God of Israel, righteousness is yours; we are only a small band which has been kept from death, as at this day: see, we are before you in our sin; for no one may keep his place before you because of this.
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Hashem Elohei Yisroel, Thou art tzaddik; for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day; hineni, we are before Thee in our guilt, though we cannot stand before Thee because of it.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.