Ezra 9

Revised Geneva Translation

9 When these things were done, the rulers came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites are not separated from the people of the lands (as touching their abominations) —the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

² “For they have taken their daughters to themselves, and to their sons. And they have mixed the holy seed with the people of the lands. And the hand of the princes and rulers have been chief in this trespass.”

³ But when I heard this saying, I tore my clothes and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head, and of my beard, and sat down astonished.

⁴ And all who feared the Words of the God of Israel assembled to me there, because of the transgression of those of the captivity. And I sat down astonished until the evening Sacrifice.

⁵ And at the evening Sacrifice, I rose up from my heaviness. And when I had torn my clothes and my garment, I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God,

⁶ and said, “O my God! I am confounded and ashamed to lift up my eyes to You, my God! For our iniquities have increased over our head! And our trespass has grown up to the heaven!

⁷ “From the days of our fathers we have been in a great trespass until this day. And we, our kings and our priests have, for our iniquities, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, into captivity, into a spoil, and into confusion of face, as it is this day!

⁸ “And now for a short time, grace has been shown from the LORD our God, in allowing a remnant to escape, and in giving us a nail in His Holy Place, so that our God may light our eyes and give us a little reviving in our servitude.

⁹ “For we were slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has inclined mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us life, and to erect the House of our God, and to redress its desolate places, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your Commandments

¹¹ “which You have Commanded by your servants the Prophets, saying, ‘The land to which you go to possess is an unclean land, because of the filthiness of the people of the lands, which by their abominations and by their uncleanness have filled it from corner to corner.

¹² ‘Now, therefore, you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons, nor seek their peace nor wealth forever, so that you may be strong and eat the goodness of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your sons forever.’

¹³ “And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespasses, (seeing that You, our God, have stayed your Hand for our iniquities, and have given us such deliverance),

¹⁴ “should we return to break Your Commandments and join in marriage with the people of such abominations? Would You not be angry toward us until You had consumed us, so that there would be neither remnant nor any escaping?

¹⁵ “O LORD God of Israel! You are just! For we have been reserved to escape, as it is this day. Behold, we are before You in our trespass. Though we cannot stand before You because of it.”