Ezra 7-10

Common English Bible

Introduction to Ezra

7 After this, in the rule of Persia’s King Artaxerxes, Ezra son of Seraiah son of Azariah son of Hilkiah ² son of Shallum son of Zadok son of Ahitub ³ son of Amariah son of Azariah son of Meraioth ⁴ son of Zerahiah son of Uzzi son of Bukki ⁵ son of Abishua son of Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶ this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Instruction from Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. Moreover, the king gave him everything he requested because the Lord his God’s power was with him.

⁷ Some of the Israelites and some of the priests and the Levites, the singers and gatekeepers and the temple servants also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸ They reached Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ The journey from Babylon began on the first day of the first month, and they came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰ Ezra had determined to study and perform the Lord’s Instruction, and to teach law and justice in Israel.

Letter from Artaxerxes

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, a scholar of the text of the Lord’s commandments and his requirements for Israel:

Ezra prepares to leave

²⁷ Bless the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has moved the king to glorify the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and who has demonstrated his graciousness for me before the king and his counselors and all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage because the Lord my God’s power was with me. I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

8 These are the heads of the families, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me during the rule of King Artaxerxes:

² of the family of Phinehas, Gershom; of Ithamar, Daniel; of David, Hattush, ³ Shecaniah’s son;^[d] of Parosh, Zechariah and with him were registered 150 men;

Voyage to Jerusalem

¹⁵ I gathered them by the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped for three days.

As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found no Levites there. ¹⁶ So I called for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, all leaders, together with Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise. ¹⁷ I sent them^[g] to Iddo, the leader at the place named Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his colleagues the temple servants at Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for God’s house. ¹⁸ Because we were favored by God, they brought us Sherebiah, a skillful man of the family of Mahli, Levi’s son and Israel’s grandson, together with his sons and relatives so that there were eighteen in total. ¹⁹ They also brought us Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah of the family of Merari, together with his relatives and their sons so that there were twenty in total. ²⁰ In addition, there were two hundred twenty temple servants whom David and the princes had appointed to serve the Levites. These were all recorded by name.

²¹ Then I called for a fast there at the Ahava River so that we might submit before our God and ask of him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. ²² I had been ashamed to ask the king for a group of soldiers and cavalry to help us in facing enemies on the way, because we had told the king, “The power of God favors all who seek him, but his fierce wrath is against all who abandon him.” ²³ So we fasted and prayed to our God for this, and he responded to us.

²⁴ Then I selected twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten of their relatives with them. ²⁵ I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the equipment, the offering for the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his officials, and all Israel present there had offered. ²⁶ I weighed out into their keeping six hundred fifty kikkars of silver, one hundred silver containers weighing a certain number of kikkars, one hundred kikkars of gold, ²⁷ twenty gold bowls worth one thousand darics, and two containers of highly polished copper, which were as precious as gold. ²⁸ I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the equipment is holy; the silver and the gold are a spontaneous gift to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. ²⁹ Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in Jerusalem before the officials of the priests, the Levites, and the heads of the families of Israel, within the rooms of the Lord’s house.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the utensils as they were weighed out, in order to bring them to Jerusalem, to our God’s house.

³¹ Then we left the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month^[h] to go to Jerusalem. The power of our God was with us; he saved us from the power of the enemy and ambushes along the way.

Finishing the journey

³² After arriving in Jerusalem, we rested there three days. ³³ On the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the equipment were weighed out in our God’s house into the care of the priest named Meremoth, Uriah’s son, together with Eleazar, Phinehas’ son; and the Levites, Jozabad, Jeshua’s son, and Noadiah, Binnui’s son. ³⁴ Everything was counted and weighed, and the total weight was recorded.

³⁵ At that time, those who had come from the captivity, the returned exiles, offered as entirely burned offerings to the God of Israel twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a purification offering. All this was an entirely burned offering to the Lord. ³⁶ They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal chief administrators and governors of the province Beyond the River, who supported the people and God’s house.

Facing a communal problem

9 When these tasks were finished, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites haven’t kept themselves separate from the peoples of the neighboring lands with their detestable practices; namely, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² They’ve taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and the holy descendants have become mixed with the neighboring peoples.^[i] Moreover, the officials and leaders have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”

³ When I heard this, I tore my clothes and cloak, pulled out hair from my head and beard, and sat down in shock. ⁴ Then all those who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me on account of the transgression of the returned exiles while I remained sitting in shock until the evening sacrifice.

Ezra prays

⁵ At the time of the evening sacrifice, I ended my penitential acts. While still wearing^[j] my torn clothes and cloak, I fell upon my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God, ⁶ and said,

The community responds

10 While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and bowing down before God’s house, a very large crowd of men, women, and children of Israel gathered around him. The people also wept in distress. ² Then Shecaniah, Jehiel’s son, from the family of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We’ve been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the neighboring peoples.^[n] But even now, there is hope for Israel in spite of this. ³ Let’s now make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives and their children, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God. Let it be done according to the Instruction. ⁴ Get up, for it is your duty to deal with this matter; we will support you. Be strong and act.” ⁵ So Ezra got up and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel take a solemn pledge that they would do as had been said. So they took a solemn pledge.

The assembly decides

⁶ Then Ezra got up from the area in front of God’s house and went to the room of Jehohanan, Eliashib’s son, where he spent^[o] the night. He didn’t eat food or drink water, for he was mourning because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

⁷ An order was then circulated throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the returned exiles should gather in Jerusalem. ⁸ All those who failed to appear within three days, as mandated by the officials and elders, would have all their property taken away. They would be separated from the congregation of the exiles. ⁹ So within three days, all the people of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month.^[p] All of the people sat in the area in front of God’s house, trembling because of this order and because of the heavy rain.

¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women and adding to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹ But now, make a confession to the Lord God of your ancestors and do his will. Separate yourselves from the neighboring peoples^[q] and from the foreign wives.”

¹² The whole assembly shouted in reply, “Yes. We must do as you have said. ¹³ But there are many people, and it’s the rainy season; we can’t continue to stand outside. Nor can this task be completed in a day or two because many of us have sinned in this matter. ¹⁴ Let our leaders represent the entire assembly. Let all in our towns who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, along with the elders and judges of every town, until God’s great anger at us on account of this matter be averted.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan, Asahel’s son, and Jahzeiah, Tikvah’s son, opposed this; Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levites supported them.

Resolving the issue

¹⁶ Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest chose^[r] certain men, heads of families, each representing their family houses. Each of them was designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month^[s] they sat down to examine the matter. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month,^[t] they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.