Ezra 10
Open in the reader1While Help prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Strives-with-Godites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.
2Then He-Who-Is-Has-Dwelt son of God-Lives, an child of Elam, said to Help: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Strives-with-God.
3So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Teaching.
4Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we will support you. Be strong and take action!”
5So Help got up and made the leading priests, Joined-Ones, and all Strives-with-God take an oath to do what had been said. And they took the oath.
6Then Help withdrew from before the house of God and walked to the chamber of He-Who-Is-Has-Been-Gracious son of My-God-Will-Restore. And while he stayed there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7And a proclamation was issued throughout Praised and Foundation-of-Peace that all the exiles should gather at Foundation-of-Peace.
8Whoever failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.
9So within the three days, all the men of Praised and Son-of-the-Right-Hand assembled in Foundation-of-Peace, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.
10Then Help the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Strives-with-God.
11Now, therefore, make a confession to He-Who-Is, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”
12And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say!
13But there are many people here, and it is the rainy season. We are not able to stay out in the open. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.
14Let our leaders represent the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.”
15(Only He-Who-Is-Has-Given son of God-Has-Made and He-Who-Is-Sees son of Tokhath, supported by Allied and Sabbath-Born the Joined-One, opposed this plan.)
16So the exiles did as proposed. Help the priest selected men who were family heads, each of them identified by name, to represent their families. On the first day of the tenth month they launched the investigation,
17and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.
18Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of He-Who-Is-Saves son of He-Who-Is-Righteous and his brothers: Work-of-He-Who-Is, My-God-Is-Help, He-Will-Contend, and He-Who-Is-Great.
19They pledged to send their wives away, and for their guilt they presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.
20From the descendants of He-Has-Said: Gracious and He-Who-Is-Has-Endowed.
21From the descendants of Devoted: Work-of-He-Who-Is, My-God-Is-He-Who-Is, He-Who-Is-Has-Heard, God-Lives, and Strength-of-He-Who-Is.
22From the descendants of Liberation: My-Eyes-Are-Toward-He-Who-Is, Work-of-He-Who-Is, God-Hears, God-Has-Given, He-Who-Is-Has-Endowed, and God-Has-Made.
23Among the Joined-Ones: He-Who-Is-Has-Endowed, My-Hearing, He-Who-Is-Has-Made-Light (that is, Stunted-One), He-Who-Is-Has-Opened, Praised, and My-God-Is-Help.
24From the singers: My-God-Will-Restore. From the gatekeepers: Requital, Telem, and My-Light.
25And among the other children of Strives-with-God, from the descendants of Flea: Ramiah, He-Who-Is-Sprinkles, My-King-Is-He-Who-Is, From-the-Right-Hand, My-God-Is-Help, My-King-Is-He-Who-Is, and He-Who-Is-Has-Built.
26From the descendants of Elam: Gift-of-He-Who-Is, He-Who-Is-Remembers, God-Lives, My-Servant, Heights, and My-God-Is-He-Who-Is.
27From the descendants of Zattu: My-Eyes-Are-Toward-He-Who-Is, My-God-Will-Restore, Gift-of-He-Who-Is, Heights, Gift, and Aziza.
28From the descendants of Bebai: He-Who-Is-Has-Been-Gracious, He-Who-Is-Gracious, Pure, and Athlai.
29From the descendants of Built: Allied, Reigning-One, He-Who-Is-Has-Adorned, He-Will-Return, Sheal, and The-Height.
30From the descendants of Governor-of-Moab: Pleasure, Chelal, He-Who-Is-Has-Built, Work-of-He-Who-Is, Gift-of-He-Who-Is, In-the-Shadow-of-God, Built, and Causing-to-Forget.
31From the descendants of Devoted: My-God-Is-Help, He-Who-Is-Forgets, My-King-Is-He-Who-Is, He-Who-Is-Has-Heard, Heard,
32Son-of-the-Right-Hand, Reigning-One, and He-Who-Is-Has-Kept.
33From the descendants of Hashum: Gift-of-He-Who-Is, Mattattah, Gift, My-God-Is-Deliverance, Jeremai, Causing-to-Forget, and My-Hearing.
34From the descendants of Built: Maadai, Kindred-Is-Exalted, Will-of-God,
35He-Who-Is-Has-Built, Servant-of-He-Who-Is, Cheluhi,
36He-Who-Is-Has-Answered, Heights, My-God-Will-Restore,
37Gift-of-He-Who-Is, Gift-of-He-Who-Is, and Jaasu.
38From the descendants of Built: My-Hearing,
39He-Who-Is-Repays, He-Has-Given, He-Who-Is-Has-Adorned,
40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
41God-Has-Helped, He-Who-Is-Repays, He-Who-Is-Has-Kept,
42Requital, He-Who-Is-Has-Said, and May-He-Add.
43And from the descendants of Nebo: God-Sweeps-Away, Gift-of-He-Who-Is, Gift, Bought, Jaddai, He-Who-Is-God, and He-Who-Is-Has-Built.
44All these men had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.