Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

7 Now after this, during the rule of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra went up from Babylon. Ezra was the 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 head religious leader. ⁶ This Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a writer who knew well the Law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king gave him everything he asked for, because the Lord his God was good to him. ⁷ Some of the sons of Israel and some of the religious leaders, the Levites, the singers, the gate-keepers and the servants of the house of God went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸ Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ He left Babylon on the first day of the first month, and came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, because the good hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had set his heart to learn the Law of the Lord, to live by it, and to teach His Laws in Israel.

¹¹ This is what was written in the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the religious leader, the writer, who had much learning in the Laws of the Lord and His Laws for Israel: ¹² “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the religious leader, the writer who knows the Law of the God of heaven: Peace. And now ¹³ I let it be known that if there are any people of Israel, religious leaders or Levites in my nation who are willing to go to Jerusalem, they may go with you. ¹⁴ For you are sent by the king and his seven men of wisdom to see if the Law of your God which is in your hand is being obeyed in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Take the silver and gold which the king and his men of wisdom have given because they wanted to give to the God of Israel, Whose house is in Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Take this with all the silver and gold you will find in the whole land of Babylon. And take the gifts of the people and of the religious leaders, who have given because they have wanted to for the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ With this money, buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain gifts and their drink gifts. And give them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ Whatever you and your brothers think is best to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, if it is the will of your God. ¹⁹ Also take to the God of Jerusalem all the objects given to you for the work of the house of your God. ²⁰ Whatever else is needed for the house of your God, you may take it from the king’s store-house. ²¹ I, King Artaxerxes, here make this known to all those who take care of the money in the lands on the other side of the River. You should be ready and willing to give Ezra, the religious leader and writer who knows the Law of the God of heaven, whatever he needs. ²² Give silver weighing up to as much as 100 men, and as much as 1,000 baskets of grain, 1,100 jars of wine, 1,100 jars of oil, and as much salt as is needed. ²³ Whatever is wanted by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven. Or else He might be angry with the nation of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also let you know that it is not allowed to take any taxes from any of the religious leaders, Levites, singers, door-keepers, or servants of this house of God. ²⁵ And you, Ezra, use the wisdom of your God which is in your hand to choose leaders and judges. They are to judge all the people in the land on the other side of the River, all those who know the Laws of your God. You may teach anyone who does not know them. ²⁶ Whoever will not obey the Law of your God and the law of the king, let his punishment be hard. Put him to death, or send him out of the land, or take what he has, or put him in prison.”

Ezra Gives Praise to God

²⁷ Honor and thanks be to the Lord, the God of our fathers, Who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to make the house of the Lord in Jerusalem beautiful. ²⁸ He has shown loving-kindness to me in front of the king and his wise men, and in front of all the king’s powerful leaders. I was given strength, because the hand of the Lord my God was upon me. And I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Families Who Returned

8 These are the leaders of family groups and the family names of those who went up with me from Babylon during the rule of King Artaxerxes: ² there was Gershom of the sons of Phinehas, Daniel of the sons of Ithamar, and from the house of David, Hattush, ³ the son of Shecaniah. There was Zechariah of the sons of Parosh, and with him were 150 men whose family names were written down. ⁴ Of the sons of Pahath-moab, there was Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and 200 men with him. ⁵ Of the sons of Zattu, there was Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and 300 men with him. ⁶ Of the sons of Adin, there was Ebed the son of Jonathan, and fifty men with him. ⁷ Of the sons of Elam, there was Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and seventy men with him. ⁸ Of the sons of Shephatiah, there was Zebadiah the son of Michael, and eighty men with him. ⁹ Of the sons of Joab, there was Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and 218 men with him. ¹⁰ Of the sons of Shelomith there was the son of Josiphiah, and 160 men with him. ¹¹ Of the sons of Bebai, there was Zechariah the son of Bebai, and twenty-eight men with him. ¹² Of the sons of Azgad, there was Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and 110 men with him. ¹³ Of the sons of Adonikam, the last to come, there were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and sixty men with them. ¹⁴ Of the sons of Bigvai, there were Uthai and Zabbud, and seventy men with them.

Ezra Finds Levites for the House of God

¹⁵ I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, where we had our camp for three days. When I saw the people and the religious leaders, I did not find any Levites there. ¹⁶ So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers. ¹⁷ I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, servants in the house of worship at Casiphia. They were to bring men to us to care for the house of our God. ¹⁸ And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of wisdom, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. His name is Sherebiah, and with him came his sons and brothers, eighteen men. ¹⁹ They also brought Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Morari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men. ²⁰ They brought 220 men to work in the house of God, whom David and the leaders had chosen to help the Levites. All of them were chosen by name.

The People Pray

²¹ Then I set apart a time there at the river of Ahava when we would not eat any food. This was so we might put away our pride before our God, and pray that He would keep us and our children and all our things safe as we traveled. ²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to keep us safe from those who hate us on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God brings good to all who look for Him. But His power and His anger are against all who turn away from Him.” ²³ So we did not eat, and prayed to God about this. And He listened to our prayer.

Gifts for the House of God

²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the head religious leaders: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers. ²⁵ And I weighed and gave to them the silver, the gold and the dishes and objects, which had been given for the house of our God by the king and his wise men and leaders, and all the people of Israel who were there. ²⁶ I gave them silver weighing as much as 650 men, silver dishes and objects weighing as much as 100 men, and gold weighing as much as 100 men. ²⁷ I gave them twenty deep, gold dishes, worth 1,000 gold-pieces, and two pots of fine shining brass, worth as much as gold. ²⁸ Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and these objects are holy. The silver and the gold are a free-will gift to the Lord God of your fathers. ²⁹ Watch and keep them until you weigh them in front of the head religious leaders, the Levites, and the heads of the family groups of Israel at Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So the religious leaders and the Levites took the weight of silver and gold and objects, to bring them to the house of our God at Jerusalem.

³¹ Then we left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. And God helped us and kept us safe from those who hated us and from those who hid waiting to fight us on the way. ³² We came to Jerusalem and stayed there for three days. ³³ On the fourth day the silver and gold and objects were weighed in the house of our God and given to Meremoth the son of Uriah the religious leader. With him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas. And with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. ³⁴ Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was written down.

³⁵ The people who had returned from Babylon gave burnt gifts in worship to the God of Israel. They gave 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for a sin gift. All this was a burnt gift to the Lord. ³⁶ Then they let the king’s rulers and leaders in the lands on the other side of the River know what the king said for them to do. And they helped the people and the house of God.

The Jews Return to Jerusalem

9 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the religious leaders and the Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands. They have followed the sinful ways of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. The holy people have mixed with the peoples of the lands. The leaders and rulers of the government have been the first in this sin.” ³ When I heard this, I tore my clothing and my coat, and pulled hair from my head and face, and sat down filled with much trouble and fear. ⁴ Then everyone who shook with fear at the words of the God of Israel, because of the sin of the Jews who returned from Babylon, gathered around me. And I sat filled with trouble and fear until the time to give the evening gift in worship.

⁵ When the evening gift was given, I rose up from my trouble, with my clothing and coat torn. And I got down on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God. ⁶ I said, “O my God, I am ashamed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our sins have risen above our heads. Our guilt has grown even to the heavens. ⁷ We have been very guilty since the days of our fathers to this day. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our religious leaders have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands. We have been killed by the sword. We have been carried away to a strange land. We have had our things taken from us, and have been put to shame, as it is this day. ⁸ But now for a short time loving-favor has been shown to us from the Lord our God. He has kept some of us alive to return to get a hold on His holy place, that our God may give light to our eyes, and give us some new life while we are under the power of Persia. ⁹ For we are servants, but our God has not left us even while we are servants of another nation. He has shown us loving-kindness in the eyes of the kings of Persia. He has given us new life to set up the house of our God, to build again its parts that have been destroyed, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And now, our God, what should we say after this? For we have turned away from Your Laws, ¹¹ which You have given to us by Your servants who spoke for You, saying, ‘The land which you are going in to take for your own is an unclean land. The peoples of the lands are unclean and have sinful ways, and they have filled it from end to end with their sin. ¹² So do not let your daughters marry their sons, or their daughters marry your sons. Never look for their peace or their well-being, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land, and leave it as a gift to your children forever.’ ¹³ You, our God, have made our punishment less than our sins. You have given us these people who are left of the Jews and who have returned from a strange land. And after all that has come upon us because of our wrong-doing and much guilt, ¹⁴ should we break Your Laws again and marry the peoples who do these sinful things? Would You not be angry with us until we are destroyed and there is no one left? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, You are right and good. For some of us have been left alive to return, as it is this day. See, we are guilty before You. No one can stand before You because of this.”

The Jews Not to Marry People Living in the Land

10 Ezra was praying and telling their sins, and crying and lying on the ground before the house of God. Many people, men, women and children, gathered around him from Israel, for the people cried with many tears. ² Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have not been faithful to our God. We have married strange women from the people of the land. But even so, there is hope for Israel. ³ So let us make an agreement with our God to put away all the wives and their children. Let this be done by the wise words of my lord and of those who shake with fear at the Word of our God. And let it be done by the Law. ⁴ Get up, for this is your duty, but we will be with you. Have strength of heart and do it.” ⁵ So Ezra got up and made the head religious leaders, the Levites and all Israel promise that they would do as he had said, and they promised.

⁶ Then Ezra got up from before the house of God and went into the room of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. He went there, but he did not eat bread or drink water, for he was filled with sorrow because the people who returned had not been faithful to God. ⁷ And it was made known to all the Jews who had returned to Judah and Jerusalem that they should gather together at Jerusalem. ⁸ Whoever would not come within three days, as the leaders had said, would have all he owned taken away from him. He would be sent away from the people who had returned from Babylon.

⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered together at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat in the open space before the house of God, shaking because of this trouble and because of much rain. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the religious leader stood up and said to them, “You have been sinful and have married wives of strange lands, adding to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ So now tell your sins to the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the strange wives.” ¹² Then all the people answered with a loud voice, “That is right! We must do as you have said. ¹³ But there are many people, and there is much rain. We cannot stand in the open. This cannot be done in one or two days, for we have sinned very much. ¹⁴ Let our leaders speak for all the people. Then let all those in our cities who have married strange wives come at certain times, together with the leaders and judges of each city. Let this be done until the anger of our God, because of this sin, is turned away from us.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah were against this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite following them.

¹⁶ But the other people who had returned from Babylon agreed to do this. Ezra the religious leader chose men who were leaders of family groups for each of their fathers’ houses. Each of them were chosen by name. So they met together on the first day of the tenth month to look into the problem. ¹⁷ And by the first day of the first month, they finished finding the names of all the men who had married wives from the other nations.

¹⁸ Of the sons of the religious leaders who had married strange wives were found the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ They promised to put away their wives, and because they were guilty, they gave a ram of the flock for their sin. ²⁰ And there were Hanani and Zebadiah of the sons of Immer, ²¹ and Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah, of the sons of Harim, ²² and Elionai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah, of the sons of Pashur. ²³ Of the Levites there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ Of the singers there was Eliashib. Of the gate-keepers there were Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ Of Israel, there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah, of the sons of Parosh. ²⁶ There were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah, of the sons of Elam. ²⁷ There were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza, of the sons of Zattu. ²⁸ There were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai, of the sons of Bebai. ²⁹ There were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeramoth, of the sons of Bani. ³⁰ There were Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh, of the sons of Pahath-moab. ³¹ Of the sons of Harim, there were Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. ³³ There were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei, of the sons of Hashum. ³⁴ Of the sons of Bani, there were Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, ³⁸ Bani, Binnui, Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. ⁴³ And there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah, of the sons of Nebo. ⁴⁴ All these had married wives of the other nations, and some of the wives had given birth to children.