Ezra's confession of sins. EZRA, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. 4 Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God. 6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 For we were bond-men; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. 10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this ? for we have forsaken thy commandments, 11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. The covenant to refrain upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; 14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping ? 15 O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses; for we cannot stand before thee because of this. CHAP. X. Erra reformeth Strange Marriages. NOW when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4 Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. 5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware. 61 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. 12 Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their 7 And they made proclamation wealth for ever: that ye may be throughout Judah and Jerusalem strong, and eat the good of the unto all the children of the captiviland, and leave it for an inherit-ty, that they should gather themince to your children for ever. selves together unto Jerusalem; 8 And that whosoever would 13 And after all that is come from strange marriages. CHAP. X. Those married to strangers. not come within three days, ac-p 19 And they gave their hands cording to the counsel of the princes that they would put away their and the elders, all his substance wives; and being guilty, they ofshould be forfeited, and himself fered a ram of the flock for their separated from the congregation trespass. of those that had been carried 20 And of the sons of Immer; away. Hanani, and Zebadiah. 9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, and the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives to increase the trespass of Israel. 21 And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Johiel, and Uzziah. 22 And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. 23 Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 24 of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. 25 Moreover, of Israel: of the 11 Now therefore make confes-sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jesion unto the LORD God of your ziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, fathers, and do his pleasure: and and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and separate yourselves from the peo- Benaiah. ple of the land, and from the 26 And of the sons of Elam; strange wives. Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi,and Jeremoth, and Eliah. 12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. 14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us. 27 And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattanjah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. 28 Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. 29 And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adajah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. 30 And of the sons of Pahath moab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah,, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. 31 And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. 33 Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shi 15 1 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shab-mei. bethai the Levite helped them. 16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month. 34 Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, 38 And Bani,and Binnui, Shimei. 39 And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai,Sharai, 41 Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, andJoseph. 43 Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah, 18 1 And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange,wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, 44 All these had taken strange and his brethren; Maaseiah, and wives: and some of them had Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. I wives by whom they had children 461 T The Book of NEHEMIAH. CHAP. I. THE Words of and it came to 2 That Hanani, one of my bre- 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, 5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. 10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11 O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the t,a prayer of thy servant, and to the sreorayer of thy servants, who desire by thy 462 11 0 C The names of the CHAP. III. builders of the wall 12 And I arose in the night, Ithe beams thereof, and set up the and some few men with me; neither doors thereof, the locks thereof, told I any man what my God had and the bars thereof. put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: 4 And next unto them repaired neither was there any beast with Meremoth the son of Urijah, the me, save the beast that I rode upon. son of Koz. And next unto them 13 And I went out by night by repaired Meshullam the son of Bethe gate of the valley, even before rechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. the dragon-well, and to the dung- And next unto them repaired Zaport, and viewed the walls of Je-dok the son of Baana. rusalem, which were broken down, 5 And next unto them the Tekoand the gates thereof were con-ites repaired; but their nobles put sumed with fire. not their necks to the work of their LORD. 14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. 15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. 6 Moreover, the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, und Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon 16 And the rulers knew not whi-the Meronothite, the men of Gither I went, or what I did; neither hnd I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did. the work. 17.1 Then said I unto them, Ye sce the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. beon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. 8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Je rusalem unto the broad wall. 9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. 10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahath19 But when Sanballat the Horo-moab, repaired the other piece, and nite, and Tobiah the servant, the the tower of the furnaces. Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king 3 20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem. CHAP. III. TH The Builders of the Wall. HEN Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheepgate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. 2 And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. 3 But the fish-gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid 12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. 13 The valley-gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung-gate. 14 But the dung-gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 15 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallum the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Silonh by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David 463 Builders of the wall. NEHEMIAH, While the enemies scoff, 16 After him repaired Nehemiah Ishullam the son of Berechiah over the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the against his chamber.. half part of Beth-zur, unto the place 31 After him repaired Maleḥiah over against the sepulchres of Da- the goldsmith's son, unto the place vid, and to the pool that was made, of the Nethinims, and of the merand unto the house of the mighty. chants, over against the gate Miph17 After him repaired the Le-kad, and to the going up of the vites, Rehum the son of Bani. corner. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. 18 After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah. 19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the armoury, at the turning of the wall. 20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22 And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain. 23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah, by his house. 24 After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him, Pedaiah the son of Parosh. 26 Moreover,. the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water-gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out. 27 After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. 28 From above the horse-gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house. 32 And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep-gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants. CHAP. IV. Samaritans scoff at the Builders. BUT it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spake before his brethren, and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. 4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: 5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. 6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. 7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, 8 And conspired all of them to. gether to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. 29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer, over against his 10 And Judah said, The strength house. After him repaired also of the bearers of burdens is deShemaiah the son of Shechaniah, cayed, and there is much rubbish; the keeper of the east gate. so that we are not able to build the 30 After him repaired Hananiah wall. the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun 11 And our adversaries said, the sixth son of Zalaph, another They shall not know, neither see, piece. After him repaired Me-till we come in the midst among 464 |