Ezra 10

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and lying face down in front of the house of God, the temple in Jerusalem, a very large crowd of Israelites gathered around him. There were men, women, and children, and the people wept bitterly too.

1Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

NoteThe house of God is the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, which stood on a raised platform with an open courtyard in front of it. Ezra was praying in that public space, in full view, which is why a crowd could gather around him. Weeping aloud and throwing yourself face down on the ground were recognized, deliberate public signs of grief and guilt in this world, not just private feeling.

2Then Shechaniah son of Jehiel, from the family of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God. We have married foreign women from the peoples living around us. Even so, there is still hope for Israel about this.

2And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

NoteThe people in this chapter are Judeans whose families had been deported to Babylon a few generations earlier and who had returned to Judah, now a province of the Persian empire. "Foreign women from the peoples living around us" translates a phrase, "the people of the land," used here for the surrounding population who had not been deported. The law of Moses forbade marriage with the neighboring nations (Deuteronomy 7:1-4; Exodus 34:15-16), which is what makes this a legal matter and not only a social one. "Elam" here is not the country of that name but the name of an ancestor: the returning exiles were organized and recorded in family groups named after a forefather (see the list in Ezra 2). "Unfaithful" renders a Hebrew word used for a serious breach of trust, especially the misuse of something holy.

3So now let us make an agreement before our God to send away all these wives and the children born to them. Let it follow the advice of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done as the law says.

3Now 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.

NoteA covenant is a formal, binding commitment sworn before God, with consequences attached, closer to a sworn contract than to a private resolution. "Send away" is the ordinary Hebrew term for divorce. "Those who tremble at the command of our God" is a set phrase of the period for people who treat God's law with fear and seriousness. "My lord" here means Ezra.

4Get up. This matter is your responsibility, and we will stand with you. Be strong, and do it."

4Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.

NoteEzra was not only a scholar of the law. He carried a written commission from the Persian king Artaxerxes authorising him to appoint judges and enforce Jewish law in the province, with penalties (Ezra 7:25-26). "This matter is your responsibility" points to that legal standing.

5So Ezra got up and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear to do what had been said. And they swore it.

5Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.

NotePriests were the descendants of Aaron, who alone offered the sacrifices. Levites were the wider tribe of Levi, who did the temple's other work (music, guarding the doors, teaching, maintenance) and ranked below the priests. An oath sworn in God's name was legally binding, not a figure of speech.

6Then Ezra left the front of the house of God and went to the room of Johanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed there he ate no food and drank no water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of those who had come back from exile.

6Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

NoteThe temple complex had side rooms built against it, used for storing supplies, for meetings, and as lodging for priests and officials. Going without food and water was the standard form of mourning and self-humbling; it was expected to be visible to others.

7Then an announcement was sent out through Judah and Jerusalem, calling everyone who had returned from exile to gather together in Jerusalem.

7And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;

8The officials and elders decided that anyone who did not come within three days would lose all his property, and he himself would be put out of the assembly of those who had returned from exile.

8And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.

NoteLosing all his property means confiscation, the goods would be dedicated to the temple rather than simply seized by neighbors. Being put out of the assembly meant losing membership in the returned-exile community altogether, and with it a share in the land allotments and the right to worship with them. These were the two heaviest penalties the community could impose without the state.

9So within the three days all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat in the open square by the house of God, shaking because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.

9Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.

NoteThe ninth month of the Jewish calendar (Chislev) falls in roughly November-December. In Jerusalem this is the middle of the rainy season, which runs from about November to March, and it is genuinely cold. The people were sitting outdoors in the open plaza in front of the temple, in the rain.

10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful. You have married foreign women, and so you have added to Israel's guilt.

10And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.

11So now confess to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the peoples living around you and from your foreign wives."

11Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.

12Then the whole assembly answered in a loud voice, "You are right. We must do what you say.

12Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.

13But there are many of us, and it is the rainy season. We cannot stand out here in the open. Also, this is not a job for one day or two, because many of us have done wrong in this matter.

13But 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 are many that have transgressed in this thing.

14Let our leaders act for the whole assembly. Then let every man in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of his town. Let this go on until our God's fierce anger about this is turned away from us."

14Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.

NoteEach town had its own body of elders and judges who handled legal cases locally, traditionally meeting at the town gate. The proposal is to shift the enquiry from one mass meeting in the rain to scheduled hearings, town by town, with the local authorities present as witnesses.

15Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahaziah son of Tikvah took a stand about this matter, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

15Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

NoteThe Hebrew here is ambiguous and translators divide over it. It says literally that these four men "stood over" or "stood against" this matter. That can mean they were appointed to take charge of it, or that they took a stand against the proposal. The King James takes the first sense ("were employed about this matter"); many modern versions take the second ("opposed this"). The text as it stands does not settle which.

16So those who had returned from exile did as proposed. Ezra the priest, and men who were heads of families, one for each family group, were set apart, each of them named. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to look into the matter.

16And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

Note"Heads of families," literally "heads of fathers' houses," were the leaders of the extended-family groups by which the returned exiles were organized, taxed and recorded. Naming each man individually made the panel a matter of public record.

17By the first day of the first month they had finished with all the men who had married foreign women.

17And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.

NoteThe first day of the first month is the start of the month Nisan, in roughly March-April, so the enquiry ran about three months from the date given in verse 16.

18Among the descendants of the priests, these were found to have married foreign women. From the sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and from Jeshua's brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

18And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

NoteJeshua son of Jozadak was the high priest who had come back with the first group of returning exiles (Ezra 3:2), so this list begins with the family at the very top of the priesthood. Priests were held to stricter marriage rules than other Israelites (Leviticus 21).

19They gave their promise to send their wives away. Because they were guilty, they brought a ram from the flock as the offering for their guilt.

19And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.

Note"Gave their promise" is literally "gave their hand", a clasp of hands that sealed a pledge, like a handshake on a contract. The guilt offering was a specific sacrifice prescribed in the law (Leviticus 5-6) for wrongs that required compensation as well as forgiveness; a ram was the animal named for it.

20From the descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

20And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.

NoteFrom here to the end of the chapter the men are grouped under the names of ancestors (Immer, Harim, Pashur and the rest) because the returning exiles were registered by family group. The same family names appear in the register of returnees in Ezra 2. Verses 18-24 cover temple staff (priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers); verse 25 onward covers everyone else.

21From the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

21And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

22From the descendants of Pashur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

22And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

23Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (who is also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

23Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

24From the singers: Eliashib. From the gatekeepers who guarded the temple doors: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

24Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

NoteSingers and gatekeepers were hereditary orders of temple servants, reckoned among the Levites. The singers provided the music for worship; the gatekeepers controlled who and what came in and out of the temple courts, and guarded the stores.

25And from the rest of Israel, the people who were not priests or Levites. From the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Jeziah, Malchiah, Miamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah.

25Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

26From the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Eliah.

26And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.

27From the descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

27And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

28From the descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

28Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

29From the descendants of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Ramoth.

29And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.

30From the descendants of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

30And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

NotePahath-moab is a family name meaning "governor of Moab." How the family got the name is unknown; by this period it was simply one of the largest clans among the returned exiles (Ezra 2:6).

31From the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

31And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

32and also from Harim's descendants: Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

32Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

33From the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

33Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

34From the descendants of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,

34Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

35and also from Bani's descendants: Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,

35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,

36and also Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

37and also Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

37Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

38and also Bani, Binnui, Shimei,

38And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

NoteThe Hebrew of verses 34-38 is uncertain here. The King James reads "and Bani, and Binnui," treating them as two more men in the list; other translations divide the words differently and read "of the sons of Binnui," starting a new family group. This is why English versions of these verses do not match one another.

39and also Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,

39And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

40and also Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

41and also Azareel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,

41Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

42and also Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

42Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

43From the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, Joel, and Benaiah.

43Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah.

44All these men had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.

44All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

NoteThe last clause of the chapter is obscure in Hebrew, and the ancient versions differ. The King James takes it to mean that some of these men had children by these wives. Others, following the Greek text of 1 Esdras, read it as saying that they sent the wives away together with their children. The book ends at this point; it does not say what became of the women and children.