Esdras 10

¹ Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he hadHe confessed his sins, and the sins of the people.confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

² And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, [one] of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there isMeaning, that God would receive them in mercy.hope in Israel concerning this thing.

³ Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put awayWho are strangers and married contrary to the law of God.all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

⁴ Arise; for [this] matterBecause God has given you authority and learning to persuade the people in this and to command them.[belongeth] unto thee: we also [will be] with thee: be of good courage, and do [it].

⁵ Then arose Ezra, and caused the chiefe Priestes, the Leuites, and all Israel, to sweare that they would doe according to this worde. So they sware.

⁶ And Ezra rose vp from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Iohanan the sonne of Eliashib: he went euen thither, but he did eate neither bread, nor drunke water: for he mourned, because of the transgression of them of the captiuitie.

⁷ And they caused a proclamation to goe throughout Iudah and Ierusalem, vnto all them of the captiuitie, that they should assemble themselues vnto Ierusalem.

⁸ And whosoeuer woulde not come within three dayes according to the counsel of the Princes & Elders, all his substance should be forfait, & he should be separate from the Congregation of them of the captiuitie.

⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It [was] theWhich contained part of November and part of December.ninth month, on the twentieth [day] of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of [this] matter, and for the greatFor the season was given to rain and so the weather was more sharp and cold and also their conscience touched them.rain.

¹⁰ And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, toYou have laid one sin on another.increase the trespass of Israel.

¹¹ Now thereforeRead (Jos_7:19).make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.

¹² And all the Congregation answered, and sayd with a loude voyce, So will we do according to thy wordes vnto vs.

¹³ But the people are many, and it is a raynie weather, and we are not able to stande without, neither is it the worke of one day or two: for we are many that haue offended in this thing.

¹⁴ Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand,Let them be appointed to examine this matter.and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.

¹⁵ Then were appoynted Ionathan the sonne of Asah-el, & Iahaziah the sonne of Tikuah ouer this matter, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Leuites helped them.

¹⁶ And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, [with] certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by [their] names,They went to the chief cities to sit on this matter which took three months to finish.were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

¹⁷ And vntill the first day of the first moneth they were finishing the businesse with al the men that had taken strange wiues.

¹⁸ And of the sonnes of the Priests there were men founde, that had taken strange wiues, to wit, of the sonnes of Ieshua, the sonne of Iozadak, & of his brethren, Maaseiah, Aeliezer, and Iarib and Gedaliah.

¹⁹ And they gaveAs a token that they would keep their promise and do it.their hands that they would put away their wives; and [being] guilty, [they offered] a ram of the flock for their trespass.

²⁰ And of the sonnes of Immer, Honani, and Zebadiah.

²¹ And of the sonnes of Harim, Maaseiah, & Eliiah, and Shemaiah, and Iehiel, and Vzziah.

²² And of ye sonnes of Pashur, Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Iozabad, and Elasah.

²³ And of the Leuites, Iozabad and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (which is Kelitah) Pethahiah, Iudah and Eliezer.

²⁴ And of the singers, Eliashib; of the porters, Shallum, and Telem, and Vri.

²⁵ Moreover ofMeaning of the common people: for before he spoke of the priests and Levites.Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

²⁶ And of the sonnes of Elam, Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Iehiel, and Abdi, and Ieremoth, and Eliah.

²⁷ And of the sonnes of Zattu, Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Ierimoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

²⁸ And of the sonnes of Bebai, Iehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai.

²⁹ And of the sonnes of Bani, Meshullam, Malluch, & Adaiah, Iashub, and Sheal, Ieramoth.

³⁰ And of the sonnes of Pahath Moab, Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

³¹ And of the sonnes of Harim, Eliezer, Ishiiah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

³² Beniamin, Malluch, Shamariah.

³³ Of the sonnes of Hashum, Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Ieremai, Manasseh, Shimei.

³⁴ Of the sonnes of Bani, Maadai, Amram, and Vel,

³⁵ Banaiah, Bediah, Chelluh,

³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Iaasau,

³⁸ And Banni, and Bennui, Shimei,

³⁹ And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

⁴¹ Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

⁴² Shallum, Amariah, Ioseph.

⁴³ Of the sonnes of Nebo, Ieiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iadau, and Ioel, Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these had taken strange wives: and [some] of them had wives by whom they hadWho also were made illegitimate because the marriage was unlawful.children.