Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from the book of
Ezra, chapters 7 through 10. Chapter 7 Now after
these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king
of Persia, Ezra the son of Sariah, the son of
Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shalom,
the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, the son
of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Mariot,
the son of Zariah, the son of Uzi, the son of
Buki, the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas,
the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief
priest. This Ezra came up from Babylon, and he
was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which
the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted
him all his requests, according to the hand of
the Lord his God upon him. Some of the children
of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers,
the gatekeepers, and the Nethanim, came up to
Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month,
which was in the seventh year of the king. On
the first day of the first month, he began his
journey from Babylon. And on the first day of
the fifth month, he came to Jerusalem, according
to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra
had prepared his heart to seek the law of the
Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and
ordinances in Israel. This is a copy of the letter
that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the
scribe, expert in the words of the commandments
of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel. Artaxerxes,
king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of
the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace,
and so forth. I issue a decree that all those
of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites
in my realm who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem
may go with you, and whereas you are being sent
by the king and his seven counselors to inquire
concerning Judah and Jerusalem with regard to
the law of your God which is in your hand, and
whereas you are to carry the silver and gold
which the king and his counselors have freely
offered to the God of Israel whose dwelling is
in Jerusalem. And whereas all the silver and
gold that you may find in all the province of
Babylon, along with the freewill offering of
the people and the priests, are to be freely
offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem,
now therefore be careful to buy with this money
bulls, rams, and lambs with their grain offerings
and their drink offerings, and offer them on
the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.
And whatever seems good to you and your brethren,
to do with the rest of the silver and the gold,
do it according to the will of your God. Also
the articles that are given to you for the service
of the house of your God, deliver in full before
the God of Jerusalem. And whatever more may be
needed for the house of your God, which you may
have occasion to provide, pay for it from the
king's treasury. And I, even I, Artaxerxes the
king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who
are in the region beyond the river. that whatever
Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the
God of heaven, may require of you, let it be
done diligently. Up to one hundred talents of
silver, one hundred cores of wheat, one hundred
baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and
salt without prescribed limit. Whatever is commanded
by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done
for the house of the God of heaven. For why should
there be wrath against the realm of the king
and his sons? Also we inform you that it shall
not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom
on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers,
Nethanim, or servants of this house of God. And
you, Ezra, according to your God -given wisdom,
set magistrates and judges, who may judge all
the people who are in the region beyond the river.
All such as know the laws of your God, and teach
those who do not know them. Whoever will not
observe the law of your God and the law of the
king, let judgment be executed speedily on him,
whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation
of goods, or imprisonment. Blessed be the Lord
God of our fathers, who has put such a thing
as this in the king's heart, to beautify the
house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and
has extended mercy to me before the king and
his counselors, and before all the king's mighty
princes. So I was encouraged, as the hand of
the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered leading
men of Israel to go up with me. Of the sons of
Parush, Zechariah. And registered with him were
one hundred and fifty males. Of the sons of Pahat,
Moab. Elihunai, the son of Zariah. And with him
two hundred males. Of the sons of Shecania, Ben,
Jehaziel. And with him three hundred males. Of
the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan.
And with him fifty males. Of the sons of Elam,
Jeshiah, the son of Ataliah. And with him seventy
males. Of the sons of Shephatia, Zebediah the
son of Mikael, and with him eighty males. Of
the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jael, and
with him two hundred and eighteen males. Of the
sons of Shilomit, Ben -Josephiah, and with him
one hundred and sixty males. Of the sons of Bibai,
Zechariah the son of Bibai, and with him twenty
-eight males. Of the sons of Asgad, Joanan the
son of Hakatan, and with him one hundred and
ten males. Of the last sons of Adonikam, whose
names are these, Eliphelet, Jael, and Shemaiah,
and with them sixty males. Also of the sons of
Bigvai, Utai, and Zabud, and with them seventy
males. Now I gathered them by the river that
flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days.
And I looked among the people and the priests,
and found none of the sons of Levi there. Then
I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan,
Jerib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Mishulam,
leaders, also for Joyerib and Elnathan, men of
understanding. And I gave them a command for
Edo the chief man at the place Kasifiah. And
I told them what they should say to Edo and his
brethren, the Nethanim, at the place Kasifiah,
that they should bring us servants for the house
of our God. Then by the good hand of our God
upon us, they brought us a man of understanding,
of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son
of Israel, namely, Sherabiah, with his sons and
brothers, eighteen men, and Hashabiah, and with
him, Jeshiah, of the sons of Merari, his brothers
and their sons, twenty men, also of the Nethanim,
whom David and the leaders had appointed for
the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty
Nethanim, all of them, were designated by name.
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of
Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before
our God, to seek from him the right way for us,
and our little ones, and all our possessions.
For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort
of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the
enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the
king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all
those for good who seek him. But his power and
his wrath are against all those who forsake him.
So we fasted and entreated our God for this,
and he answered our prayer. And I separated twelve
of the leaders of the priests, Cherubiah, Hashabiah,
and ten of their brethren with them, and weighed
out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles,
the offering for the house of our God, which
the king and his counselors and his princes And
all Israel, who were present, had offered. I
weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty
talents of silver, silver articles weighing one
hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold,
twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas,
and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious
as gold. And I said to them, You are holy to
the Lord. The articles are holy also. and the
silver and the gold are a freewill offering to
the Lord God of our fathers. Watch and keep them
until you weigh them before the leaders of the
priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers'
houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers
of the house of the Lord. So the priests and
the Levites received the silver and the gold
and the articles by weight to bring them to Jerusalem,
to the house of our God. Then we departed from
the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the
first month to go to Jerusalem. And the hand
of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from
the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the
road. So we came to Jerusalem and stayed there
three days. Now on the fourth day the silver
and the gold and the articles were weighed in
the house of our God by the hand of Meramoth,
the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was
Eliezer the son of Phinehas. With them were the
Levites, Josabath the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah
the son of Benui, with the number and weight
of everything. All the weight was written down
at that time. The children of those who had been
carried away captive, who had come from the captivity,
offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel,
twelve bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs,
and 12 male goats as a sin offering. All this
was a burnt offering to the Lord. And they delivered
the king's orders to the king's satraps and the
governors in the region beyond the river. So
they gave support to the people and the house
of God. Chapter 9 When these things were done,
the leaders came to me saying, The people of
Israel and the priests and the Levites have not
separated themselves from the peoples of the
lands with respect to the abominations of the
Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the
Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians,
and the Amorites. For they have taken some of
their daughters as wives for themselves and their
sons. so that the holy seed is mixed with the
peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the
leaders and rulers has been foremost in this
trespass. So when I heard this thing, I tore
my garment and my robe, and plucked out some
of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down
astonished. Then everyone who trembled at the
words of the God of Israel assembled to me because
of the transgression of those who had been carried
away captive, and I sat astonished until the
evening sacrifice. At the evening sacrifice,
I arose from my fasting, and having torn my garment
and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out
my hands to the Lord my God. And I said, O my
God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift
up my face to you, my God. For our iniquities
have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt
has grown up to the heavens. since the days of
our fathers to this day we have been very guilty
and for our iniquities we our kings and our priests
have been delivered into the hand of the kings
of the lands to the sword to captivity to plunder
and to humiliation as it is this day and now
for a little while grace has been shown from
the lord our god to leave us a remnant to escape
and to give us a peg in his holy place that our
God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure
of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves,
yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage,
but he extended mercy to us in the sight of the
kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the
house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to
give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. And now,
O our God, what shall we say after this? For
we have forsaken your commandments, which you
commanded by your servants the prophets, saying,
The land which you are entering to possess is
an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the
peoples of the lands, with their abominations,
which have filled it from one end to another
with their impurity. Now therefore do not give
your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take
their daughters to your sons, and never seek
their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong
and eat the good of the land, and leave it as
an inheritance to your children forever. And
after all that has come upon us for our evil
deeds and for our great guilt, since you our
God have punished us less than our iniquities
deserve, and have given us such deliverance as
this, Should we again break your commandments
and join in marriage with the people committing
these abominations? Would you not be angry with
us until you had consumed us so that there would
be no remnant or survivor? O Lord God of Israel,
you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant,
as it is this day. Here we are before you in
our guilt, though no one can stand before you
because of this. Now while Ezra was praying,
and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing
down before the house of God, a very large assembly
of men, women, and children gathered to him from
Israel. For the people wept very bitterly. And
Shecaniah the son of Jael, one of the sons of
Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, We have trespassed
against our God, and have taken pagan wives from
the peoples of the land. Yet now there is hope
in Israel in spite of this. Now therefore, let
us make a covenant with our God to put away all
these wives and those who have been born to them,
according to the advice of my Master and of those
who tremble at the commandment of our God, and
let it be done according to the law. Arise, for
this matter is your responsibility. We also are
with you. Be of good courage and do it. Then
Ezra arose and made the leaders of the priests,
the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that
they would do according to this word. So they
swore an oath. Then Ezra rose up from before
the house of God and went into the chamber of
Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. And when he came
there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for
he mourned because of the guilt of those from
the captivity. And they issued a proclamation
throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants
of the captivity. that they must gather at Jerusalem,
and that whoever would not come within three
days, according to the instructions of the leaders
and elders, all his property would be confiscated,
and he himself would be separated from the assembly
of those from the captivity. So all the men of
Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within
three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth
of the month. And all the people sat in the open
square of the house of God, trembling because
of this matter and because of heavy rain. Then
Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, You
have transgressed and have taken pagan wives,
adding to the guilt of Israel. Now therefore
make confession to the Lord God of your fathers
and do his will. Separate yourselves from the
peoples of the land and from the pagan wives.
Then all the assembly answered and said with
a loud voice, Yes, as you have said, so we must
do. But there are many people. It is the season
for heavy rain. and we are not able to stand
outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days,
for there are many of us who have transgressed
in this matter. Please let the leaders of our
entire assembly stand, and let all those in our
cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed
times, together with the elders and judges of
their cities, until the fierce wrath of our God
is turned away from us in this matter. Only Jonathan,
the son of Asahel, and Jehaziah, the son of Tigva,
opposed this, and Meshulam and Shabitai, the
Levite, gave them support. Then the descendants
of the captivity did so, and Ezra the priest,
with certain heads of the father's households,
were set apart by the father's households, each
of them by name, and they sat down on the first
day of the tenth month to examine the matter.
By the first day of the first month, they finished
questioning all the men who had taken And among
the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives,
the following were found of the sons of Jeshua
the son of Josedek and his brothers, Masaiah,
Eleazar, Jerib, and Gedaliah. And they gave their
promise that they would put away their wives,
and being guilty, they presented Aram of the
flock as their trespass offering. Also of the
sons of Emer, Hanani, and Zebediah, of the sons
of Harim, Masaiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel,
and Uzziah. Of the sons of Peshur, Elionai, Masaiah,
Ishmael, Nethanel, Josabath, and Elasa. Also
of the Levites, Josabath, Shimei, Keliah, the
same as Kelita, Pettiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
Also of the singers, Eliashib, and of the gatekeepers,
Shalom, Telem, and Uri. And others of Israel,
The sons of Parosh, Ramya, Jeziah, Malkiah, Mijamim,
Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah. Of the sons of
Elam, Mataniah, Zechariah, Jael, Abdi, Jerimoth,
and Eliah. Of the sons of Jatu, Elionai, Eliashib,
Mataniah, Jerimoth, Zebad, and Aziza. Of the
sons of Vibai, Jehohanan. Hananiah, Zabai, and
Atlai. Of the sons of Bani, Mishulam, Maluk,
Adaiah, Jashub, Sheil, and Ramut. Of the sons
of Pahat Moab, Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Masiah,
Mataniah, Bezalel, Benui, and Manasseh. Of the
sons of Harim, Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah,
Shemion, Benjamin, Malouk, and Shemaria. Of the
sons of Hashum, Matanai, Matata, Zabad, Elifelet,
Jeremiah, Manasseh, and Shimei. Of the sons of
Bani, Maadai, Amram, Uwel, Benaiah, Bedeah, Kelu,
Vanya, Merimut, Eliashib, Matania, Matanai, Jasai,
Bani, Benui, Shimei, Shilemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
Makna Dibai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shilemiah,
Shemariah, Shalom, Amariah, and Joseph. Of the
sons of Nebo, Jael, Matityah, Zabad, Zebina,
Jadai, Joel, and Benaiah. All these had taken
pagan wives, and some of them had wives by whom
they had children.