1 Ezra was praying and confessing. He was crying and bowing down in front of YAHUAH’s Temple. While Ezra was doing that, a large group of the Israelites (men, women, and children) gathered around him. They were crying too (AT THE SIGHT OF THEIR LEADER BROKEN AND WAILING LOUDLY). 2 Then Shecaniah (son of Jehiel), one of the descendants of Elam, spoke to Ezra and said, “We have not been obedient to YAHUAH. We have married the people living around us. But, even though we have done this treachery, there is still hope for Israel. 3 Now let us make a Covenant before YAHUAH to send away all these women and their children. We will do that to follow the advice of Ezra and the people who respect the Divine Laws of our Alahim YAHUAH. We will obey YAHUAH’S Instructions. 4 Get up, Ezra. Come on! This is your responsibility, but we'll all support you. Now be brave and do it.”
5 So Ezra got up. He made the Chief Priests, the Levites, and all the Israelites promise to do what he said. 6 Then Ezra went away from the front of YAHUAH’S house. He went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While Ezra was there, he didn’t eat food or drink water. He did that because he was still very sad about the Israelites who came back to Jerusalem. 7 Then he sent a message to every place in Judah and Jerusalem, telling all the Jewish people who had come back from captivity to meet together in Jerusalem. 8 Those who did not come to Jerusalem in three days would lose their property and be removed from the group.
9 So in three days all the men from the families of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people met together in the Temple yard. They were very upset because of the reason for the meeting and because of the heavy rain. 10 Then Ezra the Priest stood and said to them, “You people have not been obedient to YAHUAH. You have married foreign women. You have made Israel more guilty than ever by doing that. 11Now you must confess your sins to YAHUAH, the Alahim of your ancestors. You must obey His Commands. Separate yourselves from the people living around you and from your foreign wives now!”
12Then the whole group who met together answered Ezra, shouting, “Ezra, you’re right! We must do what you say! 13 But there are many people here. And it’s the rainy time of year, so we can’t stay outside. This problem cannot be solved in a day or two because we have sinned in a very bad way. 14 Let our leaders decide for the whole group meeting here. Then let every man in our towns who married a foreign woman come here to Jerusalem at a planned time. Let them come here with the elders and judges of their towns. Then YAHUAH will stop being angry with us.”
15 Only a few men were against this plan. They were Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah. Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite were also against the plan. 16 But the Israelites who came back to Jerusalem accepted the plan. Ezra the Priest chose men who were family leaders. He chose one man from each Tribe. Each man was chosen by name. Then on the first day of the tenth month, the men who were chosen sat down to study each of the cases. 17 And by the first day of the first month, they finished discussing all the men who had married foreign women. (THIS IS NOT ABOUT RACE OR ETHNICITY BUT IDOLATRY)
18 These are the names of the descendants of the Priests who married foreign women and who now promised to send them away: From the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and Jeshua’s brothers, these men: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 All of them promised to end away their foreign women. And then each one of them offered a ram from the flock for a guilt offering. They did that because of their guilt. 20 From the descendants of Immer, these men: Hanani and Zebadiah. 21 From the descendants of Harim, these men: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. 22 From the descendants of Pashhur, these men: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah. 23 Among the Levites, these are the men who married foreign women: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 24 Among the singers, this is the man who married a foreign woman: Eliashib. Among the gatekeepers, these are the men who married foreign women: Shallum, Telem, and Uri. 25 Among the other Israelites, these men married foreign women: From the descendants of Parosh, these men: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah. 26 From the descendants of Elam, these men: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. 27 From the descendants of Zattu, these men: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. 28 From the descendants of Bebai, these men: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. 29 From the descendants of Bani, these men: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. 30 From the descendants of Pahath Moab, these men: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh. 31 From the descendants of Harim, these men: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. 33 From the descendants of Hashum, these men: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. 34 From the descendants of Bani, these men: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu. 38 From the descendants of Binnui, these men: Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. 43 From the descendants of Nebo, these men: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. 44 All these men married foreign women, and some of them had children with these wives also. THE BOOK OF EZRA ASKS US ALL TO DECIDE IS THIS: WHICH DO WE DESIRE MORE? THE PRAISE OF MEN OR THE APPROVAL OF YAHUSHA? A COMFORTABLE MAN-MADE `COUNTRY-CLUB' MINDSET THAT MAY HAVE AN AURA OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ABOUT IT, OR A HARD-PRESSED, NARROW SCRIPTURAL PATH THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US BY YAHUSHA?
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