Shekaniah tells the men to send their wives and children away
1Ezra prayed. He confessed their sins and he cried and lay on the ground in front of the temple. A lot of men, women and children came and stood by him. They also cried very loudly. 2Shekaniah, son of Jehiel from the Elam family, started to speak. He said to Ezra: ‘We have been unfaithful to our God. We have married women who are not Israelites but are Gentile people from this land. Yes, we did not obey the laws of God, but we can still hope that God will be good to the people of Israel. 3We must now promise our God that we will send away all these women and their children. Sir, you and everyone who respects all the laws of God must decide to do it. We must do what the Lord wants. 4Ezra, you must stand up because it is you who must do this. We are with you and we will help you. You must be strong and you must do it.’
5Ezra got up and he said the leaders of the priests, the Levites and all the Israelites must promise that they would do what Shekaniah had said. Then they all promised to do it. 6Ezra went away from the temple. He went to the room of Jehohanan, son of Eliashib. He went there, but he did not eat or drink anything. He mourned because the people had been slaves in Babylon and had come back to Israel, but now they were unfaithful.
The congregation decides what to do
7They sent a message to everyone in Judah and Jerusalem and they told all the people who had come back from Babylon to come together in Jerusalem. 8The chiefs and the leaders decided that everyone must come. They said that they would chase away anyone who did not come after 3 days, and they would take everything that belonged to them.
9All the men from Judah and Jerusalem came together before the 3 days were over. It was on the 20th day of the 9th month. Everyone came to the courtyard of the temple and they sat there. It was raining and it was very cold. They all trembled because it was cold but also because they were afraid. 10The priest Ezra got up and he said to them: ‘You were unfaithful. You have married women who are not Israelites. You have made the people of Israel sin more and more. 11Now you must all confess your sins before the Lord, the God of your forefathers. You must do what He wants. You must leave the other people in the land. You must divorce the women who are not Israelites.’
12All the people in the congregation answered and said loudly: ‘Yes, we must do what you have said. 13But there are many people here. It is raining and we can not stand outside. There are many of us who have done this sin but we will not be able to do everything that you say in one or 2 days. 14Our leaders can stay here and they can do what the congregation has to do and say when we must come. The people from all the towns who have married Gentile women can come on those days. The leaders and judges from the towns can come together with them and they can do what they have to do. We must do this so that the Lord will not be angry with us anymore.’
15Only Jonathan, son of Asahel, and Jahzeiah, son of Tikvah, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite did not want to do this. 16But the people who had come back from Babylon did what they had decided. Ezra, the priest, chose men who were family leaders and he called out their names and wrote them down. They came together on the first day of the 10th month to do the work 17and on the first day of the first month of the next year, the last of the men who were married to Gentile women were divorced.
The names of the men who let their wives go
18There were also priests who had married women who were not Israelites. They were:
From the family of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and his brothers, there were Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. 19They promised to let their wives go and each of them gave a sheep or goat-ram as a guilt-offering. 20From the Immer family there were Hanani and Zebadiah. 21From the Harim family there were Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah. 22From the Pashhur family there were Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.
23From the Levites there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah, Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer. Kelaiah's other name was Kelita.
24From the people who sang there was Eliashib and from the gatekeepers there were Shallum, Telem and Uri. 25There were also other people of Israel. From the Parosh family there was Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah and Benaiah.
26From the Elam family there were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah. 27From the Zattu family there were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza. 28From the Bebai family there were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai.
29From the Bani family there were Meshullam, Malluk, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth. 30From the Pahath-Moab family there were Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh.
31From the Harim family there were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32Benjamin, Malluk and Shemariah. 33From the Hashum family there were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei.
34From the Bani family there were Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, 36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37Mattaniah, Mattenai and Jaasu. 38From the Binnui family there were Shimei, 39Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41Azarel, Shelemiah Shemariah, 42Shallum, Amariah and Joseph.
43From the Nebo family were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah.
44They were all married to women who were not Israelites and they sent their wives and children away.
