Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 127
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of Uriah the priest and to Eleazar son of Phinehas, along with Jozabad
son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui—both of whom were Levites.
Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the total weight
was officially recorded.
Then the exiles who had come out of captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel. They presented twelve bulls for all the people
of Israel, as well as n inety-six rams and s eventy-seven male lambs. They
also offered twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was given as a
burnt offering to the Lord. The king’s decrees were delivered to his
highest officers and the governors of the province west of the Euphrates
River, who then cooperated by supporting the people and the Temple
of God.
When these things had been done, the Jewish leaders came to me and
said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in
the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Am
orites. For the men of Israel have married women from these people and
have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have
led the way in this outrage.”
When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled hair from my
head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked. Then all who trembled
at the words of the God of Israel came and sat with me because of this
outrage committed by the returned exiles. And I sat there utterly appalled
until the time of the evening sacrifice.
At the time of the sacrifice, I stood up from where I had sat in mourning
with my clothes torn. I fell to my knees and lifted my hands to the Lord
my God. I prayed,
“O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you.
For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached
to the heavens. From the days of our ancestors until now, we have
been steeped in sin. That is why we and our kings and our priests have
been at the mercy of the pagan kings of the land. We have been killed,
captured, robbed, and disgraced, just as we are today.
“But now we have been given a brief moment of grace, for the Lord
our God has allowed a few of us to survive as a remnant. He has given
us security in this holy place. Our God has brightened our eyes and
granted us some relief from our slavery. For we were slaves, but in his
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