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EZRA 1 0
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. 9 For
we were slaves, but in his unfailing love
our God did not abandon us in our slavery.
Instead, he caused the kings of Persia to
treat us favorably. He revived us so we could
rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its
ruins. He has given us a protective wall in
Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “And now, O our God, what can
we say after all of this? For once again
we have abandoned your commands!
11 Your servants the prophets warned
us when they said, ‘The land you are
entering to possess is totally defiled by
the detestable practices of the people
living there. From one end to the other,
the land is filled with corruption. 12 Don’t
let your daughters marry their sons!
Don’t take their daughters as wives
for your sons. Don’t ever promote the
peace and prosperity of those nations.
If you follow these instructions, you
will be strong and will enjoy the good
things the land produces, and you will
leave this prosperity to your children
forever.’
13 “Now we are being punished because
of our wickedness and our great guilt. But
we have actually been punished far less
• Conscience
E Z R A 9 :6
Ezra was ashamed of the people’s sin;
he was also ashamed that they seemed
unconcerned about their sin. Today we
often think of shame as negative—a cruel
attempt to damage one’s psyche. But
shame is also defined as the painful sense
of having done something wrong. This is
the kind of shame we should feel when we
have given in to sin. It is actually a natural
consequence of our conscience doing
its work. How would we feel if someone
filmed our worst sin and put it on national
television? That sense of shame and guilt
is the natural response of our conscience
witnessing against us for our sins. No
wonder we blush and feel shame and
guilt, and move to seek forgiveness and
reconciliation. If we never feel this sense
of shame, we are doing a marvelous
job of either evading sin or ignoring our
conscience.
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than we deserve, for you, our God, have
allowed some of us to survive as a remnant.
14 But even so, we are again breaking your
commands and intermarrying with people
who do these detestable things. Won’t your
anger be enough to destroy us, so that
even this little remnant no longer survives?
15 O Lord, God of Israel, you are just. We
come before you in our guilt as nothing
but an escaped remnant, though in such
a condition none of us can stand in your
presence.”
The People Confess Their Sin
While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down
on the ground in front of the Temple of God,
a very large crowd of people from Israel—men,
women, and children—gathered and wept
bitterly with him. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, “We
have been unfaithful to our God, for we have
married these pagan women of the land. But
in spite of this there is hope for Israel. 3 Let
us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away
with their children. We will follow the advice
given by you and by the others who respect the
commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law of God. 4 Get up, for it is your
duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things
straight. We are behind you, so be strong and
take action.”
5 So Ezra stood up and demanded that the
leaders of the priests and the Levites and all
the people of Israel swear that they would do
as Shecaniah had said. And they all swore a
solemn oath. 6 Then Ezra left the front of the
Temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He spent the night* there
without eating or drinking anything. He was
still in mourning because of the unfaithfulness
of the returned exiles.
7 Then a proclamation was made throughout
Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should
come to Jerusalem. 8 Those who failed to come
within three days would, if the leaders and elders so decided, forfeit all their property and be
expelled from the assembly of the exiles.
9 Within three days, all the people of Judah
and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. This
took place on December 19,* and all the people
were sitting in the square before the Temple of
God. They were trembling both because of the
seriousness of the matter and because it was
raining. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood and said
to them: “You have committed a terrible sin. By
marrying pagan women, you have increased
10
10:6 As in parallel text at 1 Esdras 9:2; Hebrew reads He went.
10:9 Hebrew on the twentieth day of the ninth month, of the
ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was December 19,
458 b.c.; also see note on 6:15.