1 Ezra 8

1Now Ezra was born after these events, when King Artaxerxes of the Persians was reigning. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum

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2the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, the son of Amariah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, the son of Abishua, the son of Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the high priest.

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3This Ezra came up out of Babylon as a scribe well-versed in the Law of Moses given by the God of Israel.

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4The king gave him honor, for he found favor before him in all his petitions.

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5Some of the children of Israel, and some of the priests, Levites, temple singers, doorkeepers and temple servants also came up with him to Jerusalem. This took place in the seventh year of Artaxerxes' reign, in the fifth month (this was his seventh year as king).

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6For they departed from Babylon on the new moon of the first month and entered Jerusalem on the new moon of the fifth month, according to the prosperous journey given them by the Lord.

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7For Ezra had such great skill that he left out nothing from the law and commandments of the Lord. He taught all Israel the complete ordinances and judgments.

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8A written ordinance from King Artaxerxes came to Ezra the priest and reader of the law of the Lord. A copy of it is as follows:

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9'King Artaxerxes, to Ezra the priest and reader of the law of the Lord: Greetings.

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10I have decided to be benevolent and to order that any among the Jews, the priests and Levites, and those in our kingdom who wish and choose to do so may sojourn with you to Jerusalem.

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11'As many therefore as have so determined, let them go out together with you (as this has seemed good to me and the seven friends who are my advisors)

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12so they may take care of matters concerning Judea and Jerusalem, as recorded in the law of the Lord,

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13and also carry gifts to the Lord of Israel which I and my friends have vowed for Jerusalem. If any gold and silver is found in the country of Babylon for the Lord in Jerusalem, let this also be collected, along with any gifts from the nation for the temple of their Lord in Jerusalem,

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14both of gold and silver for bulls, rams, and lambs, and whatever is needed with them,

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15to offer sacrifices upon the altar of their Lord in Jerusalem.

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16'Whatever you and your brethren decide to do with the silver and gold, do it according to the will of your God,

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17as well as with the holy vessels of the Lord given to you for the needs of the temple of your God in Jerusalem.

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18Whatever else remains that you may happen to need for the temple of your God, it will be given you from the king's treasury.

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19'I, King Artaxerxes, have ordered the treasurers of Syria and Phoenicia that whatever Ezra the priest and reader of the law of the Almighty God requests, they are to be diligent to give him, up to the sum of one hundred talents of silver,

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20and likewise, up to one hundred measures of wheat, one hundred measures of wine, and an abundance of salt.

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21Let all these things be performed carefully according to the law of God for the Most High God, that His anger may not descend on the kingdom of the king or his sons.

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22I also say to you that no tribute or penalty is to be imposed upon any priests, Levites, temple singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or anyone having duties in this temple. Nor does anyone have the authority to levy any taxes upon them.

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23'As for you, Ezra, appoint judges and justices in all Syria and Phoenicia according to the wisdom of God, that they may judge everyone who knows the law of your God; but you shall instruct those who do not know it.

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24For whoever transgresses the law of your God and the royal law will be severely punished, either by death or another punishment, or by a monetary penalty or imprisonment.'

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25So Ezra the scribe said, 'Blessed is the only Lord God, who put these things into the king's heart to glorify His house in Jerusalem,

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26and who gave me honor before the king and before his advisors, friends, and nobles.

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27I was very encouraged by the help of my Lord and God and brought together men of Israel to journey with me.'

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28Here are the officers according to their paternal families and the governors who came up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

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29Of the sons of Phineas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Gamael; of the sons of David, Hattush the son of Sechenias;

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30of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him one hundred fifty men from the register

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31of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men

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32of the sons of Zattu, Secheniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred men; of the sons of A din, Obed the son of Jonathan, and with him two hundred fifty men

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33of the sons of Elam, Josiah son of Gotholiah, and with him seventy men

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34of the sons of Shephatiah, Zeraiah the son of Michael, and with him seventy men

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35of the sons of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred twelve men

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36of the sons of Bani, Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred sixty men

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37of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight men

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38of the sons of Azag, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred ten men

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39of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, and these are their names: Eliphalat, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them seventy men

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40of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai the son of Istalcurus, and with him seventy men.

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41I gathered them together at the river called Theras. We camped there for three days, and I carefully observed them.

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42When I did not find among them any sons of priests or Levites,

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43I sent word to Eleazar, Iduel, Maasmas, Jarib, Nathan, Elnathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were officers and men of understanding.

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44I directed them to go to Iddo, who was the leader over the place of the treasury,

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45and commanded them to reason with Iddo and his brothers and those at the place of the treasury to send us those who would serve as priests in the house of our Lord.

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46By the mighty hand of our Lord, they brought us skilled men of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, that is, Sherebiah and his eighteen sons and brothers;

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47and also Asebiah and Annunus, and Hosaiah his brother, of the sons of Chanounaius, and their sons, twenty men;

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48and of the servants of the temple whom David and the officers appointed for the work of the Levites, two hundred twenty temple servants. The list of all their names was made known.

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49There I declared a fast before our Lord for the young men,

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50to seek from Him a safe journey for us and for those coming with us, for our children and cattle.

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51I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry, cavalry, and an escort for safety against our enemies.

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52For we said to the king, 'The strength of our Lord shall be with those who seek Him for any correction.'

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53Again we implored our Lord about all this, and we obtained His mercy.

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54Then I separated twelve men, Serebiah and Asabiah, chief leaders among the priests, and also ten men from among their brothers with them.

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55I weighed out to them silver and gold, and the sacred vessels from the house of our Lord, which the king himself, his advisors, the nobles, and all Israel had given us.

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56After weighing it, I delivered to them six hundred fifty talents of silver, silver vessels worth one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, twenty bowls of wrought gold, and twelve vessels made of fine bronze that glistened like gold.

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57I said to them, 'You are set apart to the Lord, as are the sacred vessels and the silver and gold. They are a vow to the Lord, to the Lord of our fathers.

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58Be alert and keep guard until you hand them over to the chief leaders among the priests and Levites, and to the heads of the paternal families of Israel in Jerusalem, to be put in the chambers of the house of our Lord.'

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59Then the priests and Levites took the silver, the gold, and the vessels that had been in Jerusalem and carried them into the house of the Lord.

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60We broke camp at the river Theras on the twelfth day of the first month and came to Jerusalem, the mighty hand of our Lord with us. He delivered us on the way from every enemy, and we entered Jerusalem.

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61After we had been there three days, the gold and silver were weighed and brought to the house of our Lord to Marmuth the priest, son of Uriah.

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62Eleazar the son of Phineas was with him, as well as the Levites, Josabad the son of Joshua and Moeth the son of Sabannus. They counted the number and weight of everything, which was recorded at that very moment.

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63Those who arrived from the captivity offered sacrifices to the Lord, the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-two lambs, and twelve male goats as a thank offering—all as a sacrifice to the Lord.

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64Then they presented the king's ordinances to the royal stewards and governors of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, and they honored the people and the temple of the Lord.

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65After this was done, the leaders came to me and said,

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66'The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated from the foreign peoples of the land and from their uncleanness: the Caananites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Edomites.

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67For they and their sons have married their daughters, and the holy seed has been mingled with the foreign peoples of the land; and from the beginning of this situation the leaders and the nobles have participated in this sin.'

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68The moment I heard this, I tore my garments and my sacred apparel, pulled out hair from my head and beard, and sat down deep in turmoil and great sadness.

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69Then as many as ever were moved by the word of the Lord of Israel, these gathered around me as I mourned over this lawlessness and sat in deep distress until the evening sacrifice.

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70Then I rose up from the fast with my garments and sacred apparel torn, bowed down on my knees, and stretched out my hands to the Lord, saying:

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71'O Lord, I am shamed and hesitant before Your face.

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72For our sins abound far above our heads, and our ignorance has risen up to heaven.

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73From the time of our fathers until this day, we are in great sin.

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74Because of our iniquities and those of our fathers, we with our brothers, our kings, and our priests were handed over to the kings of the earth, to the sword, to captivity, to foraging, in shamefulness until this very day.

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75'Now how great is the mercy that has come to us from You, O Lord! For You have left us a root and a name in this place of Your sanctuary,

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76to unveil a light to us in the house of our Lord and God and to give us food in the time of our captivity.

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77Even in our servitude we were never forsaken by our Lord, but He gave us favor with the kings of Persia

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78who gave us food and honored the temple of our Lord. They also raised up Zion from destruction and gave us a firm footing in Judea and Jerusalem.

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79'So now, what are we to say, O Lord, since we have these things? For we disobeyed Your ordinances which You gave by the hand of Your servants the prophets, who said,

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80'The land into which you are entering as an inheritance is a land made unclean by the defilement of the foreign peoples of the land, for they have filled it with their impurity.

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81Thus, you are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons.

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82Never seek to live in peace with them, that you may be strong and partake of the good things of the land, giving it to your children as an inheritance forever.'

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83'Everything that happened to us came about because of our evil works and our many sins.

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84You, O Lord, lightened the burden of our iniquities and gave us so great a root. But we turned back once more to transgress Your law, to mingle with the impurity of the foreigners in the land.

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85Were You not furious with us to destroy us until there was no root left, nor a seed, nor our name?

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86You are faithful, O Lord of Israel, for we were left as a root to this very day.

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87Behold, we are now before You in our lawlessness, for because of this there is no place for us to stand before You.'

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88As Ezra was praying and giving thanks, weeping and prostrate on the ground before the temple, a very large crowd gathered around him—men, women, and young men from Jerusalem—for there was great lamentation among the people.

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89Then Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Israel, called out and said to Ezra, 'We sinned against the Lord in taking foreign wives from among the peoples of the land, but now there is hope in Israel.

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90Let us swear an oath to the Lord in this, to put away all our foreign wives with their children, as decided by you and by as many as obey the law of the Lord.

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91Stand up and complete this task; for it is in your hands, and we are with you to take firm action.'

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92So Ezra stood up and commanded the leaders of the priests and the Levites of all Israel to act accordingly. Thus they swore an oath.

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