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Ezra's prayer

9 When we had done all these things, the Jewish leaders came to speak to me. They said, ‘Some of the Israelites have done disgusting things, like the people of other nations do. Some priests and Levites have done the same bad things. They live in the same way as the other people who live in this land, the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. They have not kept themselves separate. ² They have married some of the foreign people's daughters. They have let their sons do the same thing. In this way, God's holy people have become mixed with the foreign people who live near to them. Our own leaders and officers have led the way in these bad things.’

³ When I heard this, I was very upset. I tore my shirt and my coat. I pulled out hair from my head and my beard. I was angry and ashamed. I sat down. ⁴ Then everyone who respected the words of Israel's God came around me. They were afraid of what God might do, because the Israelites who came from Babylon had not obeyed him. I continued to sit there, until the time of the evening sacrifice. I was still very upset.

⁵ When the time came for the evening sacrifice, I stood up. I still wore my shirt and coat that I had torn because I was so sad. Then I went down on my knees. I held out my hands and I prayed to the Lord , my God. ⁶ I said,

‘My God, I am too ashamed to look up at you. Our sins are very great. They are so many that they reach far above us. We are completely guilty. ⁷ Since our ancestors were alive, we have continued to do wrong things. Because of our sins, you have given our enemies power over us, our kings and our priests. Foreign kings and their armies have killed some of our people. They have made some of us prisoners. They have robbed us and they have caused us to be ashamed. And we are still ashamed today.

⁸ But now, for a short time, the Lord our God has been kind to us. He has let some of us remain alive. He has given us a safe place to live in this holy place. He has made our lives happier. He has given us rest from work as slaves. ⁹ We are still slaves, but our God has not left us alone to serve other people. Because he loves us, he has caused the kings of Persia to be kind to us. He has let us live so that we can build again the temple of our God. It had become a heap of stones, but now we have built it again. He has given us a safe place to live in Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah.

¹⁰ Our God, we can say nothing good about ourselves. We have turned away from your commands. ¹¹ Your servants the prophets told us your laws. You said, “You will go and live in a land that is unclean. The people who live there have done wicked things. The whole land has been made unclean by all the evil things that they have done. ¹² So you must not let your daughters marry their sons. And do not let your sons marry their daughters. Do not ever help them to live in peace and become strong. If you make yourselves separate from them, you will be strong yourselves. The land will give you good food to eat. After you die, the land will belong to your children, and to your descendants for ever.”

¹³ All these bad things have happened to us because we are guilty of many wicked things. But, our God, you still have not punished us as much as we deserve. You have let some of us remain alive. ¹⁴ But now we still refuse to obey your commands! Some of us have married foreign people who do disgusting things. If we continue to do that, you may destroy us all. None of us will remain alive! ¹⁵ Lord God of Israel, you are righteous. Only a few of us escaped from exile and remain as your people today. Now we stand before you as guilty people. Because of our sins, we do not deserve to come near to you.’

Marriages to Non-Jewish People

9 After we finished all these things, the leaders of the Israelites came to me and said, “Ezra, the Israelites have not kept themselves separate from the other people living around us. And the priests and the Levites have not kept themselves separate. The Israelites are being influenced by evil things done by the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. ² The Israelites have married the people living around us. The Israelites are supposed to be special, but now they are mixed with the other people living around them. The leaders and important officials of the Israelites have set a bad example in this thing.” ³ When I heard about this, I tore my robe and my coat to show I was upset. I pulled hair from my head and beard. I sat down, shocked and upset. ⁴ Then everyone who respected God’s Law shook with fear. They were afraid because the Israelites who came back from captivity were not faithful to God. I was shocked and upset. I sat there until the evening sacrifice, and the people gathered around me.

⁵ Then, when it was time for the evening sacrifice, I got up. I had made myself look shameful while I was sitting there. My robe and coat were torn, and I fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God. ⁶ Then I prayed this prayer:

“My God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to look at you. I am ashamed because our sins are higher than our heads. Our guilt has reached all the way up to the heavens. ⁷ We have been guilty of many sins from the days of our ancestors until now. We sinned so our kings and priests were punished. Foreign kings attacked us and took our people away. They took away our wealth and made us ashamed. It is the same even today.

⁸ “But now, finally, you have been kind to us. You have let a few of us escape captivity and come to live in this holy place. Lord , you gave us new life and relief from our slavery. ⁹ Yes, we were slaves, but you would not let us be slaves forever. You were kind to us. You made the kings of Persia be kind to us. Your Temple was ruined, but you gave us new life so that we can rebuild your Temple and repair it like new. God, you helped us build a wall to protect Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “Now, God, what can we say to you? We have stopped obeying you again. ¹¹ You used your servants the prophets to give these commands to us. You said, ‘The land you are going to live in and own is a ruined land. It has been ruined by evil things the people living there have done. They have done very bad things in every place in this land. They have made this land dirty with their sins. ¹² So Israelites, don’t let your children marry their children. Don’t join them. Don’t want the things they have. Obey my commands so that you will be strong and enjoy the good things of the land. And then you can keep this land and give it to your children.’

¹³ “What has happened to us is our own fault. We have done evil things, and we have much guilt. But you, our God, have punished us much less than we should have been. We have done many terrible sins, and we should have been punished worse. And you have even let some of our people escape captivity. ¹⁴ So we know that we must not break your commands. We must not marry those people. They do very bad things. God, if we continue to marry these bad people, we know you will destroy us. Then there would be no one from the Israelites left alive.

¹⁵ “ Lord , God of Israel, you are good, and you still have let some of us live. Yes, we are guilty, and because of our guilt, not one of us should be allowed to stand in front of you.”

9 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

² For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

³ And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

⁴ Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.

⁵ And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God,

⁶ And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

⁷ Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

⁸ And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

⁹ For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

¹⁰ And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

¹¹ Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.

¹² Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.

¹³ And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

¹⁴ Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

Mixed Marriages

9 Now when these things had been completed, the officials approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not ^{( A )} separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^{( B )} as to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² For ^{( C )} they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that ^{( D )} the holy ^{[ a ]} race has ^{( E )} intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the officials and the leaders have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness.” ³ When I heard about this matter, I ^{( F )} tore my garment and my robe, and pulled out some of the hair from my head and my beard, and ^{( G )} sat down ^{[ b ]} appalled. ⁴ Then ^{( H )} everyone who was frightened by the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat ^{[ c ]} appalled until ^{( I )} the evening offering.

Prayer of Confession

⁵ But at the evening offering I stood up from my ^{[ d ]} humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down on my knees and ^{( J )} spread out my ^{[ e ]} hands to the Lord my God; ⁶ and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongful deeds have ^{[ f ]} risen above our heads, and our ^{( K )} guilt has grown even to the heavens. ⁷ ^{( L )} Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our wrongful deeds we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to ^{[ g ]} ^{( M )} open shame, as it is this day. ⁸ But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, ^{( N )} to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a ^{[ h ]} ^{( O )} peg in His holy place, so that our God may ^{( P )} enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. ⁹ ^{( Q )} For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not abandoned us, but ^{( R )} has extended favor to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to erect the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have abandoned Your commandments, ¹¹ which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end, and ^{( S )} with their impurity. ¹² So now do not ^{( T )} give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons, and ^{( U )} never seek their peace or their prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, and ^{( V )} leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’ ¹³ And after everything that has come upon us for our evil deeds and ^{( W )} our great guilt, since You our God have spared us by inflicting less than our wrongdoing deserves , and have given us such ^{( X )} an escaped remnant as this, ¹⁴ ^{( Y )} shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples ^{[ i ]} who commit these abominations? ^{( Z )} Would You not be angry with us ^{[ j ]} to the point of destruction, until there would be no remnant nor any who would escape? ¹⁵ Lord God of Israel, ^{( AA )} You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in ^{( AB )} our guilt, for ^{( AC )} no one can stand before You because of this.”

Footnotes

Ezra 9:2 Lit seed
Ezra 9:3 Or shattered
Ezra 9:4 Or shattered
Ezra 9:5 Or penitence
Ezra 9:5 Lit palms
Ezra 9:6 Lit increased over the head
Ezra 9:7 Lit shame of faces
Ezra 9:8 I.e., a foothold
Ezra 9:14 Lit of these abominations
Ezra 9:14 Lit to destroy

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BibleStudyIt Ezra 9

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Ezra's prayer

Marriages to Non-Jewish People

Mixed Marriages

Prayer of Confession

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Ezra’s Prayer About Intermarriage

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BibleStudyIt Ezra 9

Ezra 9's Chapter Tabs Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

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Read Chapter

Your Private Notes

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Ezra's prayer

Marriages to Non-Jewish People

Mixed Marriages

Prayer of Confession

Footnotes

Cross references

Ezra’s Prayer About Intermarriage

Footnotes

Cross references

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Ezra 9's Chapter Tabs
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