Ezra 9:1-4

International Standard Version

Ezra’s Reaction to Foreign Marriages^(A)

9 After these things occurred, certain^[a] officials approached me and said “The people of Israel, the priests, and the descendants of Levi have not separated themselves from the people of the lands or from the detestable behavior of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites, ² because they and their sons have married foreign women.^[b] As a result, the holy people^[c] have mingled themselves among the people who live in these lands. As a matter of fact, the senior officials and the rulers have been foremost in this sin.”

³ When I heard this, I tore both my garment and robe, plucked hair from both my head and my beard, and collapsed in shock! ⁴ Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered together as a group because of the sin committed by those who had been led astray. As for me, I remained seated, in shock, until the evening sacrifice.