Ezra 9

Mixed Marriages

1Now when these things had been completed, the officials approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not 1separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, 2as to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2For 3they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that 4the holy 5line has 6intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the officials and the leaders have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness.” 3When I heard about this matter, I 7tore my garment and my robe, and pulled out some of the hair from my head and my beard, and 8sat down 9appalled. 4Then 10everyone who was frightened by the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat 11appalled until 12the evening offering.

Prayer of Confession

5But at the evening offering I stood up from my 13humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down on my knees and 14spread out my 15hands to the Lord my God; 6and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongful deeds have 16risen above our heads, and our 17guilt has grown even to the heavens. 718Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our wrongful deeds 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 1920open shame, as it is this day. 8But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, 21to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a 2223peg in His holy place, so that our God may 24enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. 925For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not abandoned us, but 26has extended favor to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to erect the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

10“And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have abandoned Your commandments, 11which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end, and 27with their impurity. 12So now do not 28give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons, and 29never seek their peace or their prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, and 30leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’ 13And after everything that has come upon us for our evil deeds and 31our great guilt, since You our God have spared us by inflicting less than our wrongdoing deserves, and have given us such 32an escaped remnant as this, 1433shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples 34who commit these abominations? 35Would You not be angry with us 36to the point of destruction, until there would be no remnant nor any who would escape? 15Lord God of Israel, 37You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in 38our guilt, for 39no one can stand before You because of this.”