The People Confess Their Sins While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites– men, women, and children alike– gathered around him. The people wept loudly.
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2Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra:“We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the local peoples. Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard.
3Therefore let us enact a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, and that of those who respect the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.
4Get up, for this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and act decisively!”
5So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan. And they all took a solemn oath.
6Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed there, he did not eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles.
7A proclamation was circulated throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem.
9All the men of Judah and Benjamin were gathered in Jerusalem within the three days.(It was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of that month.) All the people sat in the square at the temple of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains.
10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them,“You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel.
11Now give praise to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents and from these foreign wives.”
12All the assembly replied in a loud voice:“We will do just as you have said!
13However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season. We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter.
14Let our leaders take steps on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”
3They said to me,“The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!”
4When I heard these things I sat down abruptly, crying and mourning for several days. I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
5Then I said,“Please, O LORD God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps his loving covenant with those who love him and obey his commandments,
6may your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed against you– both I myself and my family have sinned.
5Ezra opened the book in plain view of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, all the people stood up.
6Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied“Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
1The People Respond to the Reading of the Law When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites were settled in their cities, all the people gathered together in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel.
2So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard.(This happened on the first day of the seventh month.)
1The People Acknowledge Their Sin before God On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust.
2Those truly of Israelite descent separated from all the foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
3For one-fourth of the day they stood in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, and for another fourth they were confessing their sins and worshiping the LORD their God.
16So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out by name men who were leaders in their family groups. They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,
3When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated.
4Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.
5At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the LORD my God.
6I prayed,“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens.
7From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and priests, have been delivered over by the local kings to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment– right up to the present time.
9Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priestly scribe, and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them,“This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law.
20Gabriel Gives to Daniel a Prophecy of Seventy Weeks While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my request before the LORD my God concerning his holy mountain–
10Now Ezra had dedicated himself to the study of the law of the LORD, to its observance, and to teaching its statutes and judgments in Israel.
2So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably.
21I called for a fast there by the Ahava Canal, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and seek from him a safe journey for us, our children, and all our property.
13On the second day of the month the family leaders met with Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law.
1The Altar is Rebuilt When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites were living in their towns, the people assembled in Jerusalem.
10“And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments
3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way:“O Lord, great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant with those who love him and keep his commandments,
33“The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple,
13“Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.
23So we fasted and prayed to our God about this, and he answered us.
12Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders– older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established– were weeping loudly, and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout.
3Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced there was considerable mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic of many.
13Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom from your reliable moral standards.
26So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the LORD; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the LORD.