Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king of Persia,  ¹Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest;

This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Jehovah the God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all his  ¹request according to the  ²hand of Jehovah his God upon him.

Some of the children of Israel and some of the priests, and the Levites and the singers and the gatekeepers and the temple servants also went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king;

For on 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 God upon him.

For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Jehovah and to do it and to teach His  ¹statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Now this is the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a scribe of the words of the commandments of Jehovah and of His statutes for Israel:

 ¹Artaxerxes, the king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now

I make a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who offer themselves willingly to go to Jerusalem may go with you.

Inasmuch as you have been sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand,

And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have offered willingly to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

As well as all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, who offered willingly for the house of their God, which is in Jerusalem;

With this money therefore you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings; and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem.

And whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, you may do according to the will of your God.

And the vessels that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.

And the rest of the needs for the house of your God, which you have occasion to provide, you may provide for it out of the king's treasure house.

And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers who are in the province beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, it shall be done with all diligence,

Up to one hundred talents of silver and up to one hundred cors of wheat and up to one hundred baths of wine and up to one hundred baths of oil and salt without prescribing how much.

Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven. For why should wrath come upon the kingdom of the king and his sons?

We also inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, taxes, or tolls upon any of the priests and Levites, the singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, or servants of this house of God.

And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, all those who know the laws of your God; and teach anyone who does not know them.

And everyone who will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether to death or to banishment or to confiscation of goods or to imprisonment.

Blessed be Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this into the king's heart, to beautify the house of Jehovah, which is in Jerusalem,

And has extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the mighty officers of the king. And I was strengthened according to the hand of Jehovah my God upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel leading men to go up with me.

Now these are the heads of their fathers' houses and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him one hundred fifty males were enrolled by genealogy.

Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males.

And of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males.

And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males.

And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him eighty males.

Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred eighteen males.

And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him one hundred sixty males.

And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males.

And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him one hundred ten males.

And of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones; and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males.

And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.

And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I observed the people and the priests, I found none of the sons of Levi there.

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, leading men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

And I sent them to Iddo the leading man at the place Casiphia; and I told them what to say to Iddo and his brothers the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God.

And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; namely, Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen men;

And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty;

And of the temple servants, whom David and the leaders had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred twenty temple servants — all of them were mentioned by name.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a straight way for ourselves and for our little ones and for all our possessions.

For I was ashamed to ask for troops and horsemen from the king to help us against the enemy in the way because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is for good upon all those who seek Him, but His power and His wrath is against all those who forsake Him.

So we fasted and sought our God for this, and He was entreated by us.

Then I set apart twelve of the leading men of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,

And weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the  ¹heave offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel there present had offered.

I weighed out into their hand six hundred fifty talents of silver and one hundred silver vessels of one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold

And twenty bowls of gold of one thousand darics, and two vessels of fine polished bronze as precious as gold.

And I said to them, You are holy to Jehovah, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to Jehovah, the God of your fathers.

Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and the leaders of the fathers' houses of Israel at Jerusalem in the chambers of the house of Jehovah.

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 God.

Then we set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from people set in ambush on the way.

And we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.

And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and 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.

Everything was numbered and weighed, and all its weight was recorded at that time.

The children of those who had been carried away, who came out of captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to Jehovah.

And they delivered the king's decrees to the king's satraps and to the governors beyond the River, and these supported the people and the house of God.

Now when these things had been completed, the officials approached 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 those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

For they have taken some of their  ¹daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this unfaithfulness.

And when I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled out hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled.

Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of those of the captivity was gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening meal offering.

And at the time of the evening meal offering I rose up from my affliction, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to Jehovah my God.

And I said, O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have multiplied over our head, and our guilt has increased up to the heavens.

Since the days of our fathers up to this day we have been exceedingly guilty; and because of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests, have been delivered up into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder, and to shamefacedness, as it is this day.

And now for a brief moment favor has been shown by Jehovah our God to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

For we are slaves, yet our God 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 raise up the house of our God and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,

Which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, The land which you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations, with which they have filled it from one end to another, and with their defilement.

Now therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever; that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.

And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us those who have escaped as this,

Shall we again break your commandments and intermarry with the peoples that do these abominations? Will You not be angry with us until You have consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor any who escape?

O Jehovah the God of Israel, You are righteous; for we have been left a remnant of those who have escaped, as it is this day. Here we are before You in our guilt, although none can stand before You because of this.

Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a very large gathering of men and women and children was gathered together to him out of Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.

And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have acted unfaithfully against our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this.

Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and those born of them according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the law.

Arise, for the matter is your responsibility, but we are with you; be strong, and do it.

Then Ezra arose and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear that they would do according to this word; so they swore.

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he was mourning because of the unfaithfulness of those of the captivity.

And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together to Jerusalem;

And that whoever did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited, and he himself should be separated from the congregation of the captivity.

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 of the month, and all the people sat in the open square in front of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.

And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, You have acted unfaithfully and have married foreign women to increase the guilt of Israel.

Now therefore make confession to Jehovah the God of your fathers, and do His will, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women.

Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, It is so; we must do as you have said.

But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside; neither is this a task for one day or two, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.

Let our leaders represent the whole congregation, and let all those who are in our cities who have married foreign women come at appointed times and with them the elders of every city and their judges, until the fierce anger of our God is turned away from us on account of this matter.

Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest and certain heads of fathers' houses were set apart according to their fathers' houses, all of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

And they finished with all the men who had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.

And among the sons of the priests who had married foreign women there were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah and Eliezer and Jarib and Gedaliah.

And they pledged that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt.

And of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

And of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

And of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

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

And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, and Izziah, and Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

And of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah.

And of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

And of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai.

And of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, Jeremoth.

And of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

And of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah.

Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei.

Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi,

Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu,

And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

Azarel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.

Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, and Joel, Benaiah.

All these had taken foreign wives; and some of them had wives by whom they had children.