Genealogy of Those Who Returned with Ezra

1 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: 2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of ^uIthamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, ^vHattush. 3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of ^wParosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. 4 ^xOf the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. 5 Of the sons of Zattu,¹ Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. 6 Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. 7 Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men. 8 Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. 9 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men. 10 Of the sons of Bani,² Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. 11 ^yOf the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men. 12 Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men. 13 Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. 14 Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

Ezra Sends for Levites

15 I gathered them to the river that runs to ^zAhava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there ^anone of the sons of Levi. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and ^bMeshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight, 17 and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and³ the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God. 18 And ^cby the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of ^dMahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; 19 also ^eHashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of ^fthe sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; 20 ^gbesides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all ^hmentioned by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

21 ⁱThen I proclaimed a fast there, at the river ^jAhava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, ^kto seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ^l“The hand of our God is for good on ^mall who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Priests to Guard Offerings

24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: ^eSherebiah, ^eHashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. 25 And I weighed out to them the ⁿsilver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his ^ocounselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. 26 ^pI weighed out into their hand 650 talents⁴ of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents,⁵ and 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics,⁶ and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, ^q“You are holy to the Lord, and ^rthe vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, ^swithin the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites ^ptook over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

31 Then we departed from the river Ahava ^ton the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. ^uThe hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. 32 ^vWe came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. 33 On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were ^wweighed into the hands of ^xMeremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, ^yJozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of ^zBinnui. 34 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

35 At that time ^athose who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, ^btwelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 ^cThey also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s ^dsatraps⁷ and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.

Ezra Prays About Intermarriage

1 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the ^eLevites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands ^fwith their abominations, from the ^gCanaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 ^hFor they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the ⁱholy race⁸ has ^jmixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I ^ktore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and ^lsat appalled. 4 Then all who ^mtrembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat ⁿappalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the ⁿevening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment ^kand my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees ^oand spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities ^phave risen higher than our heads, and our ^qguilt has ^rmounted up to the heavens. 7 ^sFrom the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great ^qguilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, ^tand to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a ^uremnant and to give us a ^vsecure hold⁹ within his holy place, that our God may ^wbrighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 ^xFor we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, ^ybut has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection¹⁰ in Judea and Jerusalem.

10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with ^ztheir uncleanness. 12 ^aTherefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land ^band leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for ^cour great guilt, seeing that you, our ^dGod, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a ^eremnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and ^fintermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us ^guntil you consumed us, so that there should be no ^eremnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a ^eremnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our ^hguilt, ⁱfor none can stand before you because of this.”

The People Confess Their Sin

1 ^jWhile Ezra prayed and ^kmade confession, weeping and ^lcasting himself down ^mbefore the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. 2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: ⁿ“We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3 Therefore ^olet us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and ^ptheir children, according to the counsel of my lord¹¹ and of ^qthose who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done ^raccording to the Law. 4 Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; ^sbe strong and do it.” 5 Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel ^ttake an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.

6 Then Ezra withdrew ^ufrom before the house of God and went to the ^vchamber of ^wJehohanan the son of ^xEliashib, where he spent the night,¹² neither ^yeating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. 7 And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8 and that if anyone did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles.

9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the ^zheavy rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have broken faith and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. 11 Now then ^amake confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will. ^bSeparate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” 12 Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. 14 Let our officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come ^cat appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, ^duntil the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.” 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and ^eMeshullam and ^fShabbethai the Levite supported them.

16 Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men,¹³ heads of fathers’ houses, according to their fathers’ houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter; 17 and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.

Those Guilty of Intermarriage

18 Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, some of the sons of ^gJeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers. 19 They ^hpledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was ⁱa ram of the flock for their guilt.¹⁴ 20 ^jOf the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. 21 ^kOf the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. 22 Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

23 Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 24 Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

25 And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah,¹⁵ and Benaiah. 26 Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. 27 Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. 28 Of the sons of Bebai were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. 29 Of the sons of Bani were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. 30 Of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh. 31 Of the ^lsons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. 33 Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. 34 Of the sons of ^mBani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu. 38 Of the sons of Binnui:¹⁶ Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. 43 Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. 44 All these had married foreign women, and some of the women ⁿhad even borne children.¹⁷

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil¹ of David.

The Triumphal Entry

1 ⁱNow when they drew near to Jerusalem, to ^jBethphage and Bethany, at ^kthe Mount of Olives, Jesus¹ sent ^ltwo of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, ^mon which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many ⁿspread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ^o“Hosanna! ^pBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is ^qthe coming ^rkingdom of ^sour father ^rDavid! ^oHosanna ^tin the highest!”

11 ^uAnd he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, ^vhe went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 ^wOn the following day, when they came from Bethany, ^xhe was hungry. 13 ^yAnd seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for ^zit was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 ^aAnd they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^bthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^cpigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ^d‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But ^eyou have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and ^fwere seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because ^gall the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 ^hAnd when evening came they² went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 ⁱAs they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, ^j“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have ^kfaith in God. 23 ^lTruly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ^m‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not ⁿdoubt in his heart, but ^obelieves that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, ^pwhatever you ask in prayer, ^obelieve that you ^qhave received³ it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever ^ryou stand praying, ^sforgive, ^tif you have anything against anyone, so that ^uyour Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”⁴

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^vAnd they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, ^w“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John ^xfrom heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^y‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—^zthey were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^aa prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”