1While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the houseof God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.
2Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithfulto our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel. 3So now let us make a covenantbefore our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counselof my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. 4Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we will support you. Be strong and take action!”
5So Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israeltake an oath to do what had been said. And they took the oath.
The People’s Confession of Sin
6Then Ezra withdrew from before the houseof God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. And while he stayed†there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7And a proclamation was issued throughout Judahand Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem. 8Whoever failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.
9So within the three days, all the men of Judahand Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the houseof God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.
10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to theguiltof Israel. 11Now, therefore, make a confessionto the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”
12And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say! 13But there are many people here, and it is the rainy season. We are not able to stay out in the open. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. 14Let our leaders represent the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.”
15(Only Jonathan son of Asaheland Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullamand Shabbethaithe Levite, opposed this plan.)
16So the exiles did as proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, each of them identified by name, to represent their families. On the first day of the tenth month they launched the investigation, 17and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.
Those Guilty of Intermarriage
18Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak†and his brothers:
Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19They pledged to send their wives away, and for their guiltthey presented a ramfrom the flock as aguiltoffering.
20From the descendants of Immer:
Hananiand Zebadiah.
21From the descendants of Harim:
Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22From the descendants of Pashhur:
Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23Among the Levites:
Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24From the singers:
Eliashib.
From the gatekeepers:
Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25And among the other Israelites, from the descendants of Parosh:
A covenant is a binding agreement. In this case, it refers to divorcing pagan wives whom the people of Israel had married inappropriately. By doing this, they would renew their commitment to the Sinai covenant.
Women usually received custody of their children when a marriage ended (compare Hagar and Ishmael, Genesis 21:14).
this matter is your responsibility: As an expert in the law (see Ezra 7:10), Ezra was responsible for guiding the people to a solution that honored God regarding intermarriage. Since the law of Moses did not provide clear instructions for divorcing pagan wives, Ezra needed to create a plan that aligned with Scripture and was fair to everyone involved.
according to the counsel of the leaders and elders: It was reasonable for Ezra to add this exception. Some people might not be able to come to Jerusalem to help settle this matter.
It is unclear why these four people opposed the plan. They might have wanted a stricter penalty, or perhaps they or their family members did not want to divorce their foreign wives. The fact that there were only four dissenters shows the policy had overwhelming support among the rest of the exiles. Sadly, a few years later, a similar problem of intermarriage with foreign wives created another crisis within the community (Nehemiah 9–10).