God

So we fasted and asked our God for this, and he answered our prayer.

I weighed out to them the silver, the gold and the utensils for the house of our God contributed by the king, his counselors, his princes and all Isra'el present there.

Then I told them, "You are consecrated to ADONAI, the articles are holy, and the silver and gold are a voluntary offering for ADONAI the God of your ancestors.

Guard them carefully, until you weigh them before the chief cohanim and L'vi'im and the leaders of the fathers'clans in Yerushalayim, in the rooms of the house of ADONAI."

So the cohanim and L'vi'im received the consignment of silver and gold and the articles to bring to Yerushalayim, to the house of our God.

On the twelfth day of the first month, we left the Ahava River to go to Yerushalayim. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and surprise attacks along the road.

On the fourth day, the silver, gold and articles were weighed in the house of our God and handed over to M'remot the son of Uriyah the cohen; with him was El'azar the son of Pinchas; and with them were Yozavad the son of Yeshua and No'adyah the son of Binui, who were L'vi'im.

The exiles who had returned from captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Isra'el - twelve young bulls for all Isra'el, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering; all this was a burnt offering for ADONAI.

They also delivered the king's orders to the king's viceroys and governors beyond the [Euphrates] River; and these gave their support to the people and to the house of God.

All who trembled at the words of the God of Isra'el assembled around me when confronted with the treachery of these exiles; and I sat there in shock until the evening offering.

At the evening offering, with my cloak and tunic torn, I got up from afflicting myself, fell on my knees, spread out my hands to ADONAI my God,

and said, "My God, I am ashamed. I blush to lift my face to you, my God! For our sins tower over our heads; our guilt reaches up to heaven.

Now, for a brief moment, ADONAI our God has shown us the favor of allowing a remnant to escape and giving us a secure foothold in his holy place, in order for God to make things look brighter to us and revive us a little in our slavery.

For we are slaves. Yet our God has not abandoned us in our slavery, but has caused the kings of Persia to extend grace to us, reviving us, so that we can rebuild the house of our God, repair its ruins, and have a wall of defense in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim.

"But now, our God, what are we to say after this? For we have abandoned your mitzvot,

which you gave us through your servants the prophets when they said, 'The land which you are going to in order to take possession of it is a land defiled by the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, because of their disgusting practices, which have filled it with their filth from one end to the other.

Now, after all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our deep guilt - and even so, you, our God, have punished us less than our sins deserve and have given us a surviving remnant -

are we to break your mitzvot again by making marriages with the peoples who have these disgusting practices? Won't you become so angry with us that you would destroy us completely, so that there would be no surviving remnant and no one who escapes?

ADONAI, God of Isra'el! You are just; yet we have been left a surviving remnant that has escaped, as is the case today. Look, we are before you in our guilt; because of it, no one can stand in your presence."

While 'Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrated before the house of God, a huge crowd of Isra'el's men, women and children gathered around him; and the people were weeping bitterly.

Sh'khanyah the son of Yechi'el, one of the descendants of 'Eilam, spoke up and said to 'Ezra, "We have acted treacherously toward our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples of the land. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Isra'el.

We should make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives, along with their children, in obedience to the advice of Adonai and of those who tremble at the mitzvah of our God; let us act in accordance with the Torah.

'Ezra then left his place in front of the house of God and went to the room of Y'hochanan the son of Elyashiv. After going there, he neither ate food nor drank water; because he was mourning over the treachery of the exiles.

All the men of Y'hudah and Binyamin assembled in Yerushalayim within the three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat in the open place in front of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.

Now, therefore, make confession to ADONAI, the God of your ancestors; and do what will please him by separating yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women."