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Ezra 10

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Response to Ezra's Prayer and Confession 1–5

1
Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together unto 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 unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, 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 God to put away 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 the matter belongeth unto thee, and we are with thee: be of good courage, and do it.
5
Then arose Ezra, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they sware. ​

Ezra Calls for a General Assembly 6–8

6
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 thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity. ​
7
And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;
8
and that whosoever 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. ​

The People Agree to Systematic Reform 9–15

9
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within the three days (it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month); and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. ​
10
And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have trespassed, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel.
11
Now therefore make confession unto Jehovah, the God 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 thou hast 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 without: 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 thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, until this matter be despatched.
15
Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. ​

The Investigation Commission Established 16–17

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. ​

The List of Those Who Married Foreign Wives 18–44

18
And among the sons of the priests there were found that had married foreign women: namely, of the sons of Jeshua, 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 Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22
And of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23
And of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, 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 Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.
26
And of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah.
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
Andofthe 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, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo, and Joel, Benaiah.
44
All these had taken foreign wives; and some of them had wives by whom they had children. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ezra 10

Verse 1

weeping and casting himself down — 'Prayed' is palal and 'confessed' yadah, the verb for owning a sin (Lev 5:5, 'he shall confess that he hath sinned'). Daniel's prayer has the same pattern: 'confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel' (Dan 9:20). The congregation that gathers to Ezra includes men, women and children.

Verse 2

there is hope in Israel — Miqveh, hope, the word of Jer 14:8 and 17:13, 'O LORD, the hope of Israel'. Shechaniah of the sons of Elam owns the sin first, 'We have trespassed' (maal, as in 9:2); a Jehiel of Elam is listed among those who had taken wives (v.26). The LORD's call in Jer 3:12 is 'Return… I am merciful'.

Verse 3

make a covenant with our God — Literally to 'cut' a covenant (karath berith), as Hezekiah says, 'it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel' (2 Chr 29:10). Those 'that tremble at the commandment of our God' are the same chared as in 9:4. The ban behind it is Deut 7:3, and the wives and their children are named together.

Verse 5

to swear — Ezra makes the chief priests, Levites and all Israel swear 'do according to this word', the covenant proposed in v.3. Nehemiah later takes an oath of the priests in the same way (Neh 5:12) and makes offenders swear by God over the same kind of marriages (Neh 13:25).

Verse 6

did eat no bread, nor drink water — Moses fasted so after the golden calf: 'I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins' (Deut 9:18). Ezra's mourning is for 'the transgression' (maal, v.6; 9:4) of the returned exiles, and it goes on after the oath of v.5. He goes from the house of God to the chamber (lishkah) of Johanan the son of Eliashib.

Verse 8

all his substance should be forfeited — 'Forfeited' is charam, to devote: what was devoted to the LORD could not be redeemed (Lev 27:28). The penalty rests on the king's decree of 7:26, which allowed 'confiscation of goods'. 'Separated' is badal (as in 9:1): the loss of one's place in the congregation of the exiles.

Verse 9

Judah and Benjamin — The two tribes whose chief fathers led the return (Ezra 1:5). The ninth month is Chisleu (Zech 7:1); Ezra had reached Jerusalem in the fifth month (7:9), four months earlier. They sit 'in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain'.

Verse 13

a time of much rain — The rain (geshem) of v.9 is the reason they cannot go on standing outside. They ask instead that those who had married come 'at appointed times' with the elders and judges of each city (v.14), for 'neither is this a work of one day or two'. 'Transgressed' is pasha, to break away from authority.

Verse 15

were employed about this matter — 'Employed' is amad, 'to stand', and the verse can be read as these four taking charge of the matter, or as some standing against it. 'Helped' is azar. A Shabbethai is among those who 'caused the people to understand the law' (Neh 8:7), the same name as the Levite here.

Verse 17

made an end — The inquiry began on 'the first day of the tenth month' (v.16) and closed 'by the first day of the first month', so it took three months. 'Strange' (nokri) means foreign, the word for the 'outlandish women' who caused Solomon to sin (Neh 13:26).

Verse 18

sons of the priests — The list opens with the priests. Jeshua the son of Jozadak is the 'Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest' of Hag 1:1, who stood with Zerubbabel to build the altar (Ezra 3:2). The offenders are 'of the sons of Jeshua… and his brethren': Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah.

Verse 19

they gave their hands — To give the hand is to pledge, as Jehu and Jehonadab did (2 Kgs 10:15). The ram is the trespass offering: 'a ram without blemish out of the flocks… for a trespass offering' (Lev 5:15). The priests named here are the only offenders in the chapter whose offering is recorded.

Verse 44

strange wives — The closing verse repeats nokri, 'foreign'. It says that some of the marriages had produced children, the case the covenant of v.3 had named in 'such as are born of them'. The names in vv.18–43 are given by family: priests, Levites, singers, porters, then 'of Israel'.