Ezra 9 - Nehemiah 3

Names of God Bible

Ezra Leads the People in Prayer

9 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have failed to keep themselves separate from the neighboring groups of people and from the disgusting practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. ² The Israelites and their sons have married some of these foreign women. They have mixed our holy race with the neighboring groups of people. Furthermore, the leaders and officials have led the way in being unfaithful.”

³ When I heard this, I tore my clothes in distress, pulled hair from my scalp and my beard, and sat down in shock. ⁴ Since the former exiles had been unfaithful, everyone who gathered around me there trembled at the words of the Elohim of Israel. I sat in shock until the evening sacrifice. ⁵ At the evening sacrifice I got up from my misery, and with my clothes torn, I knelt down, stretched out my hands to Yahweh my Elohim in prayer, ⁶ and said,

The People Take Action

10 While Ezra was praying, confessing these sins, crying, and throwing himself down in front of Elohim’s temple, a large crowd of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. They also began to cry bitterly. ² Then Shecaniah, son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, interrupted by saying to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our Elohim by marrying foreign women who came from the people around us. However, there is still hope for Israel. ³ So we must now make a promise to our Elohim to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them, as my lord Ezra and the others who tremble at the commandments of our Elohim have advised us to do. We must do what Moses’ Teachings tell us. ⁴ Get up! It’s your duty to take action. We are with you, so be strong and take action.”

⁵ Then Ezra got up and made the leaders, priests, Levites, and all the rest of Israel swear to do what they had said. So they took an oath. ⁶ Then Ezra left the front of Elohim’s temple and went to the room of Jehohanan, son of Eliashib. Ezra didn’t eat any food or drink any water while he was there. He was mourning because these former exiles had been so unfaithful.

⁷ Then he sent a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the former exiles must gather in Jerusalem. ⁸ If any of them didn’t come within three days as the leaders and the older men had advised, then they would lose all their property and be excluded from the community of former exiles. ⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered within three days in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the courtyard of Elohim’s temple. They were trembling because of this matter and shivering because of the heavy rain.

¹⁰ Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, and now you have added to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹ Confess to Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors what you have done, and do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of this land and from your foreign wives.”

¹² Then the whole assembly shouted in reply, “Yes! We will do as you say. ¹³ But the crowd is too large, and it’s the rainy season. We can’t take care of this outside. Besides, there are so many of us who are involved in this sin that it can’t be taken care of in a day or two. ¹⁴ Let our leaders represent the whole community. At a set time, everyone who has married a foreign woman must meet with the leaders and judges of each city until our Elohim’s burning anger has turned away from us in this matter.”

¹⁵ (Only Jonathan, Asahel’s son, and Jahzeiah, Tikvah’s son, opposed this. Meshullam and Shabbethai, the Levite, supported Jonathan and Jahzeiah.)

¹⁶ The former exiles did this. Ezra the priest chose men who were heads of families. He chose one from each family division. (They were all listed by name.) They sat down on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month, they had finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.

¹⁸ Among the descendants of the priests, the following were married to foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, a descendant of Jeshua (who was Jozadak’s son) and his brothers. ¹⁹ They shook hands as a pledge that they would get rid of their wives. They sacrificed a ram from their flock as an offering for guilt because they were guilty.

Those Who Were Guilty of Marrying Foreign Women

⁴⁴ All of these men had married foreign women. Some of these women had given birth to children.^[a]

Distressing News

1 These are the words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah:

During the month of Chislev, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, while I was in the fortress at Susa, ² one of my brothers, Hanani, arrived with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had survived captivity and about Jerusalem. ³ They told me, “Those who survived captivity are in the province. They are enduring serious troubles and being insulted. The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”

Nehemiah’s Prayer

⁴ When I heard this, I sat down and cried. I mourned for days. I continued to fast and pray to the Elohim of heaven. ⁵ I said,

I was cupbearer^[c] to the king at this time.

The King Shows Compassion to Nehemiah

2 In the month of Nisan, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, after some wine was brought for the king, I picked up the cup of wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before.

² The king asked me, “Why do you look so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You must be troubled about something.” (I was really afraid).

³ “May the king live forever!” I said to the king. “Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors are buried, is in ruins and its gates are burned down?”

⁴ “What do you want?” the king asked me.

So I prayed to the Elohim of heaven, ⁵ and I asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, and you are willing to grant my request, let me go to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it.”

⁶ Then, while the queen was sitting beside him, the king asked me, “How long will you be gone, and when will you come back?” When I gave him a specific date, he was willing to let me go.

⁷ I also asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River. In the letters tell them to grant me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah. ⁸ Also, let me have a letter addressed to Asaph, the supervisor of Your Majesty’s forest. In the letter order him to give me wood for the gates of the fortress near the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I’ll move into.” (The king let me have the letters, because Elohim was guiding me.)

Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem

⁹ I went to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River and gave them the king’s letters. (The king had sent army officers and cavalry to be with me.) ¹⁰ But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were very upset that someone had come to give the people of Israel so much assistance.

Nehemiah Surveys the Damage to Jerusalem’s Walls

¹¹ I went to Jerusalem and was there for three days. ¹² During the night I went out with a few men without telling anyone what my Elohim had inspired me to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I had was the one I was riding. ¹³ I went through Valley Gate that night toward Snake Fountain and Dung Gate and examined the places where the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and where its gates had been burned. ¹⁴ Passing through Fountain Gate, I arrived at King’s Pool, but the animal I was riding couldn’t get through. ¹⁵ So I went through the valley that night and examined the wall. Then I turned back, entered Valley Gate, and returned.

¹⁶ The officials didn’t know where I had gone or what I had done. I hadn’t yet told the Jews, the priests, the leaders, the other officials, or any of the rest who would be doing the work. ¹⁷ Then I told them, “You see the trouble we’re in. Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are burned down. Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be insulted.” ¹⁸ Then I told them that my Elohim had been guiding me and what the king had told me.

They replied, “Let’s begin to rebuild.” So they encouraged one another to begin this God-pleasing work.

¹⁹ When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they made fun of us and ridiculed us. They asked, “What are you doing? Are you going to rebel against the king?”

²⁰ “The Elohim of heaven will give us success,” I answered them. “We, his servants, are going to rebuild. You have no property or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.”

A List of the People Rebuilding Jerusalem’s Walls

3 The chief priest Eliashib and his relatives, the priests, started by rebuilding Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place. They rebuilt as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and then as far as the Tower of Hananel. ² The men from Jericho were rebuilding next to Eliashib. Zaccur, son of Imri, was next to them. ³ The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, locks, and bars in place. ⁴ Next to them Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, made repairs. Next to them Meshullam, son of Berechiah and grandson of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok, son of Baana, made repairs. ⁵ Next to them the men from Tekoa made repairs. However, the nobles wouldn’t lower themselves to work under supervisors.

⁶ Joiada, Paseah’s son, and Meshullam, Besodeiah’s son, made repairs on Old Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, locks, and bars in place. ⁷ Next to them Melatiah from Gibeon and Jadon from Meronoth, with men from Gibeon and Mizpah, made repairs on the wall. They did this under the authority of the governor from the province west of the Euphrates River. ⁸ Next to them Uzziel, Harhaiah’s son, a goldsmith, made repairs. Next to him Hananiah, a perfume maker, made repairs. They left out part of Jerusalem as far as Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah, Hur’s son, an official in charge of half a district of Jerusalem, made repairs. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah, Harumaph’s son, made repairs across from his own home. Next to them Hattush, Hashabneiah’s son, made repairs. ¹¹ Malchiah, Harim’s son, and Hasshub, Pahath Moab’s son, made repairs on a section that included the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Next to them Shallum, Hallohesh’s son, an official in charge of half a district of Jerusalem, made repairs with the help of his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the people of Zanoah repaired Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, locks, and bars in place, and they repaired 1,500 feet of the wall, as far as Dung Gate. ¹⁴ Dung Gate itself was repaired by Malchiah, Rechab’s son, the official in charge of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and set its doors, locks, and bars in place.

¹⁵ Shallun, Col Hozeh’s son, the official in charge of the district of Mizpah, repaired Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it, put a roof over it, and set its doors, locks, and bars in place. He also made repairs on the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the King’s Garden as far as the stairs going down from the City of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah, Azbuk’s son, the official in charge of half the district of Beth Zur, made repairs all the way to a point across from the tombs of David as far as the pool and the soldiers’ barracks. ¹⁷ After him the Levites, including Rehum (Bani’s son), made repairs. Next to him Hashabiah, the official in charge of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. ¹⁸ After him their relatives made repairs. This included Binnui, Henadad’s son, the official in charge of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him Ezer, Jeshua’s son, the official in charge of Mizpah, repaired a section across from the ascent to the Armory at the Angle. ²⁰ After him Baruch, Zabbai’s son,^[d] made repairs on a section from the Angle to the door of the house of the chief priest Eliashib. ²¹ After him Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, made repairs on a section from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of Eliashib’s house. ²² After him the priests who lived in that area made repairs. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs across from their own homes. After them Azariah, son of Maaseiah and grandson of Ananiah, made repairs next to his home. ²⁴ After him Binnui, Henadad’s son, made repairs on a section from Azariah’s home to the Angle and to the corner of the wall. ²⁵ Palal, Uzai’s son, made repairs across from the Angle and the upper tower that projects from the king’s palace to the guards’ courtyard. After him Pedaiah, Parosh’s son, ²⁶ and the temple servants who were living on the Ophel made repairs on the wall as far as a point across from Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him the men from Tekoa repaired a section across from the large projecting tower as far as the Wall of the Ophel.

²⁸ Above Horse Gate the priests made repairs. Each priest made repairs across from his own home. ²⁹ After them Zadok, Immer’s son, made repairs across from his own home. After him Shemaiah, Shecaniah’s son, the guard at East Gate, made repairs. ³⁰ After him Hananiah, Shelemiah’s son, and Hanun, Zalaph’s sixth son, repaired another section. After him Meshullam, Berechiah’s son, made repairs across from his living quarters. ³¹ After him Malchiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the building that housed the temple servants and merchants across from Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room at the corner. ³² The goldsmiths and merchants made repairs between the upper room at the corner and Sheep Gate.