Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



[The following] were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, [they offered] a ram from the flock for their guilt;


So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons. Never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.”

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt. Therefore, make a confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and [your] foreign wives." Then all the assembly responded with a loud voice: "Yes, we will do as you say! read more.
But there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We don't have the stamina to stay out in the open. This isn't something that can be done in a day or two, for we have rebelled terribly in this matter. Let our leaders represent the entire assembly. Then let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each town, in order to avert the fierce anger of our God concerning this matter." Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them. The exiles did what had been proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family leaders, all [identified] by name, to represent their ancestral houses. They convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter, and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women. [The following] were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, [they offered] a ram from the flock for their guilt; Hanani and Zebadiah from Immer's descendants; Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah from Harim's descendants; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur's descendants. The Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. The singers: Eliashib. The gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri. The Israelites: Parosh's descendants: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah; Elam's descendants: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah; Zattu's descendants: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza; Bebai's descendants: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai; Bani's descendants: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth; Pahath-moab's descendants: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh; Harim's descendants: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah; Hashum's descendants: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei; Bani's descendants: Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, Bani, Binnui, Shimei, Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph; Nebo's descendants: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. All of these had married foreign women, and some of the wives had borne children.

In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.


After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy people has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!"

[The following] were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, [they offered] a ram from the flock for their guilt; Hanani and Zebadiah from Immer's descendants; read more.
Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah from Harim's descendants; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur's descendants. The Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. The singers: Eliashib. The gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri. The Israelites: Parosh's descendants: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah; Elam's descendants: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah; Zattu's descendants: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza; Bebai's descendants: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai; Bani's descendants: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth; Pahath-moab's descendants: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh; Harim's descendants: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah; Hashum's descendants: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei; Bani's descendants: Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, Bani, Binnui, Shimei, Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph; Nebo's descendants: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. All of these had married foreign women, and some of the wives had borne children.


After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy people has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!"

and from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai- who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name. These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.

[The following] were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, [they offered] a ram from the flock for their guilt; Hanani and Zebadiah from Immer's descendants; read more.
Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah from Harim's descendants; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur's descendants. The Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. The singers: Eliashib. The gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

Now before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was a relative of Tobiah and had prepared a large room for him where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, and the tenths of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests. While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his [reign]. It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence read more.
so I could return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God's house. I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah's household possessions out of the room. I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored there, along with the grain offering and frankincense. I also found out that because the portions for the Levites had not been given, each of the Levites and the singers performing the service had gone back to his own field. Therefore, I rebuked the officials, saying, "Why has the house of God been neglected?" I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts. Then all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storehouses. I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for the distribution to their colleagues.

Even one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him away from me. Remember them, my God, for defiling the priesthood as well as the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

"Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh [months] for these 70 years, did you really fast for Me? When you eat and drink, don't you eat and drink [simply] for yourselves?


We made a treaty with Egypt
and with Assyria, to get enough food.

He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. He did all these things even though he gave his hand in pledge. He will not escape!”

They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;


He must bring his restitution for the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

They replied, “If you send the ark of Israel’s God away, you must not send it without an offering. You must send back a restitution offering to Him, and you will be healed. Then the reason His hand hasn’t been removed from you will be revealed.”

The money from the restitution offering and the sin offering was not brought to the Lord’s temple since it belonged to the priests.

They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;

Then he must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a restitution offering to the priest.

“Now this is the law of the restitution offering; it is especially holy.

The priest is to take one male lamb and present it as a restitution offering, along with the one-third quart of olive oil, and he must wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord.

However, he must bring a ram as his restitution offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


We made a treaty with Egypt
and with Assyria, to get enough food.

One without sense enters an agreement
and puts up security for his friend.

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor
or entered into an agreement with a stranger,

He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. He did all these things even though he gave his hand in pledge. He will not escape!”

They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;


After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy people has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!"

[The following] were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, [they offered] a ram from the flock for their guilt; Hanani and Zebadiah from Immer's descendants; read more.
Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah from Harim's descendants; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur's descendants. The Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. The singers: Eliashib. The gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri. The Israelites: Parosh's descendants: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah; Elam's descendants: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah; Zattu's descendants: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza; Bebai's descendants: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai; Bani's descendants: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth; Pahath-moab's descendants: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh; Harim's descendants: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah; Hashum's descendants: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei; Bani's descendants: Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, Bani, Binnui, Shimei, Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph; Nebo's descendants: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. All of these had married foreign women, and some of the wives had borne children.

But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.


They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;

Then Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said; so they took the oath.


He must bring his restitution for the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

They replied, “If you send the ark of Israel’s God away, you must not send it without an offering. You must send back a restitution offering to Him, and you will be healed. Then the reason His hand hasn’t been removed from you will be revealed.”

The money from the restitution offering and the sin offering was not brought to the Lord’s temple since it belonged to the priests.

They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;

Then he must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a restitution offering to the priest.

“Now this is the law of the restitution offering; it is especially holy.

The priest is to take one male lamb and present it as a restitution offering, along with the one-third quart of olive oil, and he must wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord.

However, he must bring a ram as his restitution offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the Lord and to bring a year-old male lamb as a restitution offering. But do not count the previous period, because his consecrated hair became defiled.

They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;

The Lord spoke to Moses: "When someone sins and offends the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, a security, or a robbery; or defrauds his neighbor; or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do- read more.
once he has sinned and acknowledged [his] guilt-he must return what he stole or defrauded, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost item he found, or anything else about which he swore falsely. He must make full restitution for it and add a fifth of its value to it. He is to pay it to its owner on the day he acknowledges [his] guilt. Then he must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock, according to your valuation, as a restitution offering to the priest. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt."

"Now this is the law of the restitution offering; it is especially holy. The restitution offering must be slaughtered at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and the priest is to sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar. The offerer must present all the fat from it: the fat tail, the fat surrounding the entrails, read more.
and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins; he will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys. The priest will burn them on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord; it is a restitution offering. Any male among the priests may eat it. It is to be eaten in a holy place; it is especially holy. "The restitution offering is like the sin offering; the law is the same for both. It belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it.

"On the eighth day he must take two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished year-old ewe lamb, a grain offering of three quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one-third of a quart of olive oil. The priest who performs the cleansing will place the person who is to be cleansed, together with these offerings, before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priest is to take one male lamb and present it as a restitution offering, along with the one-third quart of olive oil, and he must wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord. read more.
He is to slaughter the male lamb at the place in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and burnt offering are slaughtered, for like the sin offering, the restitution offering belongs to the priest; it is especially holy. The priest is to take some of the blood from the restitution offering and put [it] on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. Then the priest will take some of the one-third of a quart of olive oil and pour it into his left palm. The priest will dip his right finger into the oil in his left palm and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. From the oil remaining in his palm the priest will put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the restitution offering. What is left of the oil in the priest's palm he is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord. The priest must sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be purified from his uncleanness. Afterwards he will slaughter the burnt offering. The priest is to offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. The priest will make atonement for him, and he will be clean. "But if he is poor and cannot afford [these], he is to take one male lamb for a restitution offering to be waved in order to make atonement for him, along with two quarts/ 10 of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, one-third of a quart of olive oil, and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whatever he can afford, one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.

The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord because of his discharge.

On the eighth day she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the Lord because of her unclean discharge.

However, he must bring his ram as a restitution offering to the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord with the ram of the restitution offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.


After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy people has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!"

I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for the distribution to their colleagues.

Even one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him away from me. Remember them, my God, for defiling the priesthood as well as the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

Now before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was a relative of Tobiah and had prepared a large room for him where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, and the tenths of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests. While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his [reign]. It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence read more.
so I could return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God's house. I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah's household possessions out of the room. I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored there, along with the grain offering and frankincense.

[The following] were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, [they offered] a ram from the flock for their guilt; Hanani and Zebadiah from Immer's descendants; read more.
Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah from Harim's descendants; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur's descendants.


[The following] were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, [they offered] a ram from the flock for their guilt;

After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy people has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!"

The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God—

Then Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said; so they took the oath.