Ezra 9

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The people have not kept themselves separate

¹After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites among them, have not kept themselves separate from the peoples of the lands and their detestable practices, the practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. ²They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mingled with the peoples of the lands. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”

Ezra mourns and prays

³When I heard this, I tore my tunic and my cloak, pulled out hair from my head and my beard, and sat down, stunned. ⁴Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the returned exiles, while I sat there stunned until the evening offering. ⁵At the evening offering I got up from my fasting, with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. ⁶I said, “My God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift my face to you, my God, because our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt reaches up to the heavens. ⁷Ever since the days of our ancestors we have been deeply guilty, down to this very day. Because of our sins, we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to open shame, as we are today. ⁸But now, for a short time, the LORD our God has shown us favor. He has left us a remnant who escaped and has given us a secure hold in his holy place. So our God has brightened our eyes and given us a little new life in our slavery. ⁹We are slaves, but our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has shown us faithful love in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and restore its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰And now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have abandoned your commandments, ¹¹which you gave through your servants the prophets when you said, ‘The land you are entering to take possession of is a land made impure by the impurity of the peoples of the lands, by their detestable practices. They have filled it from one end to the other with their uncleanness. ¹²So do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or their prosperity, so that you may be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it to your children as an inheritance forever.’ ¹³After all that has come on us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt, even though you, our God, have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this, ¹⁴should we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who do these detestable things? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us completely, until no remnant was left and no one escaped?

¹⁵LORD, God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant that escaped, as we are today. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it no one can stand in your presence.”