Ezra 7-10

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Ezra 7

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest: 6 this Ezra went up from Babylon: and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Yahweh his Elohim upon him. 7 And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. 8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For upon the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his Elohim upon him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

 

11 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of Yahweh, and of his statutes to Israel: 12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the Elah of heaven, perfect and so forth. 13 I make a decree, that all, they of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, that are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with you. 14 Since you are sent of the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your Elah which is in your hand, 15 and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the Elah of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, 16 and all the silver and gold that you shall find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their Elah which is in Jerusalem; 17 therefore you shall with all diligence buy with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal-offerings and their drink-offerings, and shall offer them upon the altar of the house of your Elah which is in Jerusalem. 18 And whatever shall seem good to you and to your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do you after the will of your Elah. 19 And the vessels that are given you for the service of the house of your Elah, deliver before the Elah of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever more shall be necessary for the house of your Elah, which you shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure-house. 21 And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers that are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the Elah of heaven, shall require of you, it shall be done with all diligence, 22 to a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is commanded by the Elah of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the Elah of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? 24 Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of Elah, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, upon them. 25 And you, Ezra, after the wisdom of your Elah that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your Elah; and teach you him that knows them not. 26 And whoever will not do the law of your Elah, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

 

27 Blessed be Yahweh, the Elohim of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem; 28 and has extended lovingkindness to me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened according to the hand of Yahweh my Elohim upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

 

 

Ezra 8

Now these are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: 2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush. 3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty. 4 Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males. 5 Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males. 6 And of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males. 7 And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males. 8 And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him eighty males. 9 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males. 10 And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him one hundred and sixty males. 11 And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males. 12 And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him one hundred and ten males. 13 And of the sons of Adonikam, that were the last; and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males. 14 And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.

 

15 And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers. 17 And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should say to Iddo, and his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our Elohim. 18 And according to the good hand of our Elohim upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons Of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; 19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; 20 and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were mentioned by name.

 

21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our Elohim, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 22 For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our Elohim is upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. 23 So we fasted and supplicated our Elohim for this: and he was entreated of us.

 

24 Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, 25 and weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our Elohim, which the king, and his counselors, and his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered: 26 I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels a hundred talents; of gold a hundred talents; 27 and twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of fine bright bronze, precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, You are holy to Yahweh, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering to Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers. 29 Watch, and keep them, until you weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the princes of the fathers’ houses of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Yahweh. 30 So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our Elohim.

 

31 Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem: and the hand of our Elohim was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambush by the way. 32 And we came to Jerusalem, and remained there three days. 33 And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our Elohim into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Yahshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levites; 34 the whole by number and by weight: and all the weight was written at that time.

 

35 The children of the captivity, that were come out of exile, offered burnt-offerings to the Elohim of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burnt-offering to Yahweh. 36 And they delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps, and to the governors beyond the River: and they furthered the people and the house of Elohim.

 

 

Ezra 9

Now when these things were done, the princes drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples 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 peoples of the lands: yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass. 3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded. 4 Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the words of the Elohim of Israel, because of the trespass of them of the captivity; and I sat confounded until the evening oblation.

 

5 And at the evening oblation I rose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe rent; and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to Yahweh my Elohim; 6 and I said, O my Elohim, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my Elohim; for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty to 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 plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little moment grace has been showed from Yahweh our Elohim, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our Elohim may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 For we are bondmen; yet our Elohim has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our Elohim, and to repair the ruins of it, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. 10 And now, O our Elohim, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness: 12 now therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity for ever; that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever. 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that you our Elohim have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant, 14 shall we again break your commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples that do these abominations? Would not you be angry with us till you had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before you in our guiltiness; for none can stand before you because of this.

 

 

Ezra 10

Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of Elohim, there was gathered together to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore. 2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our Elohim, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our Elohim to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of Yahweh, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our Elohim; and let it be done according to the law. 4 Arise; for the matter belongs to you, and we are with you: be of good courage, and do it.

 

5 Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore. 6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of Elohim, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity. 7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together to Jerusalem; 8 and that whoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.

 

9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together to Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day month: and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of Elohim, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, You have trespassed, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel. 11 Now therefore make confession to Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women. 12 Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, As you have said concerning us, so must we do, 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand outside: neither is this a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. 14 Let now our princes be appointed for all the assembly, and let all them that are in our cities that have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges of it, until the fierce wrath of our Elohim be turned from us, until this matter is dispatched. 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this matter: and Mashullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

 

16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of fathers’ houses, after their fathers’ houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 And they made an end with all the men that had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.

 

18 And among the sons of the priests there were found that had married foreign women: namely, of the sons of Yahshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 And they gave their hand that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt. 20 And of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. 21 And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and EliYah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. 22 And of the sons of Pahhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

 

23 And of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahaiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

 

24 And of the singers: Eliashib. And of the porters: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

 

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

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