1Therefore while Ezra prayed so, and besought God, and wept, and lay before the temple of God, a full great company of Israel, of men, and of women, and of children, was gathered together to him; and the people wept with much weeping.

2And Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered, and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have wedded wives, alien women, of the peoples of the land. And now, for penance is in Israel on this thing,

3make we bond of peace with the Lord our God, and cast we away all our alien wives, and them that be born of those wives, by the will of the Lord; and of them that dread the commandment of our God, be it done by the law.

4Rise thou up, it pertaineth to thee to deem, and we shall be with thee; be thou comforted, and do thus.

5Then Ezra rose up, and charged greatly the princes of priests, and deacons [or Levites], and all Israel, to do after this word; and they swore thereto.

6And Ezra rose up before the house of God, and he went to the bed-[place] of Johanan, the son of Eliashib, and he entered [in] thither; he ate not bread, nor drank water; for he bewailed the trespassing of them, that were come from the captivity.

7And a voice of them was sent into Judah and Jerusalem, to all the sons of captivity, that they should be gathered together in Jerusalem;

8and [that] each man that cometh not thither in three days, by the counsel of the princes and of [the] elder men, all his chattel shall be taken away from him, and he shall be cast away from the company of transmigration.

9Therefore all the men of Judah and of Benjamin came together into Jerusalem in three days; that is the ninth month, in the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of God’s house, and trembled for sin, and for rain.

10And Ezra, the priest, rose up, and said to them, Ye have trespassed, and ye have wedded wives, alien women, that ye should lay to, or increase, upon the trespass of Israel.

11Now therefore give ye acknowl-edging to the Lord God of our fathers, and do ye his pleasance, and be ye separated from the peoples of the land, and from your alien wives.

12And all the multitude answered, and said with [a] great voice, By thy word to us, so be it done.

13Nevertheless for the people is much, and the time of rain is, and we suffer not to stand withoutforth, and it is not [the] work of one day, neither of twain [or two]; for we have sinned greatly in this word;

14princes be ordained in all the multitude, and all men in our cities, that have wedded alien wives, come in times ordained, and with them come the elder men, by city and city, and the judges of the people, till the wrath of our God be turned away from us upon this sin.

15Therefore Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah, the son of Tikvah, stood upon this thing; and Meshullam, and Shabbethai, deacons [or Levites], helped them.

16And the sons of transmigration did so. And Ezra, the priest, and the men, that were princes of meines, went into the houses of their fathers, and all men by their names; and they sat in the first day of the tenth month, for to inquire the thing.

17And all men were ended, that is, the causes of all men were determined, that had wedded alien wives, till to the first day of the first month.

18And there were found of the sons of priests, that had wedded alien wives; of the sons of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

19And they gave their hands, that is, confirmed with a solemn oath, that they should cast out their wives, and that they should offer for their trespass a ram of [the] sheep.

20And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.

21And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

22And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, and Jozabad, and Elasah.

23And of the sons of deacons [or Levites]; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah; he is called Kelita; Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

24And of [the] singers, Eliashib; and of [the] porters, Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

25And of Israel, of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Izziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

26And of the sons of Elam; Mat-taniah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.

27And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

28And of the sons of Bebai; Jeho-hanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

29And of the sons of Bani; Meshul-lam, and Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.

30And of the sons of Pahath; Moab, Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, and Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

31And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

32Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

33And of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

34Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

35Benaiah, and Bedeiah, and Chelluh,

36Vaniah, Meremoth, and Eliashib,

37Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

38and Bani, and Binnui, and Shimei,

39and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

41Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

42Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

43Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Matti-thiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, Joel, and Benaiah.

44All these had taken alien, or heathen, wives, and of them were women, that had bore [or borne] children.