New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Ezra 10
1
Ezra was praying and admitting to God that his people had sinned. He was sobbing and throwing himself down in front of the house of God. Then a large crowd gathered around him. Men, women and children were there. They too sobbed bitterly.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 119:136
Romans 9:2
Luke 19:41
Zechariah 12:10
2 Chronicles 20:9
Prayer
Daniel 9:20
1 Kings 8:30
References God
Nehemiah 8:9
Nehemiah 10:28
2
Shecaniah spoke to Ezra. Shecaniah was the son of Jehiel. He belonged to the family line of Elam. Shecaniah said, "We haven't been faithful to our God. We've gotten married to women from the nations that are around us. In spite of that, there is still hope for Israel.
Reference
People
3
So let's make a covenant in the sight of our God. Let's promise to send away all of those women and their children. That's what you have advised us to do. Those who respect our God's commands have given us the same advice. We want to do what the Law says.
Reference
Covenant
Nehemiah 9:38
Deuteronomy 29:12
Parallel theme
Psalm 119:120
Psalm 119:59
Word
Ezra 9:4
2 Chronicles 34:21
4
"Get up, Ezra. This matter is in your hands. Do what you need to. We will be behind you all the way. Be brave and do it."
Reference
Good
Hebrews 10:24
Parallel theme
1 Chronicles 28:10
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Mark 13:34
1 Chronicles 28:21
Resurrection
1 Chronicles 22:19
1 Chronicles 22:16
5
So Ezra got up. He made the leading priests and Levites and all of the people of Israel take an oath. He made them promise they would do what Shecaniah had suggested. And they took the oath.
Reference
6
Then Ezra left the house of God. He went to Jehohanan's room. Jehohanan was the son of Eliashib. While Ezra was there, he didn't eat any food. He didn't drink any water. That's because he was filled with sadness. He sobbed because the people weren't faithful to the Lord's commands. Those people were the ones who had returned from Babylonia.
Reference
People
7
Then an announcement was sent all through Judah and Jerusalem. All those who had returned were told to gather together in Jerusalem.
8
They were supposed to come there before three days had passed. If they didn't, they would lose all of their property. They would also be removed from the community of those who had returned. That's what the officials and elders had decided.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezra 7:26
9
Before the three days were over, all of the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered together in Jerusalem. It was the 20th day of the ninth month. They were sitting in the open area in front of the house of God. They were very upset by what they knew would happen. And they were upset because it was raining.
10
Then the priest Ezra stood up. He said, "You haven't been faithful to the Lord. You have gotten married to women from other lands. So you have added to Israel's guilt.
11
Admit to the Lord that you have sinned. Tell the God of your people what you have done. Then do what he wants you to do. Separate yourselves from the nations that are around you. Send away your wives from other lands."
Reference
12
The whole community answered with a loud voice. They said, "You are right! We must do as you say.
13
But there are a lot of people here. And it's the rainy season. So we can't stand outside. Besides, this matter can't be taken care of in just a day or two. That's because we have sinned terribly by what we've done.
14
"Our officials can act for the whole community. Have everyone in our towns who has married a woman from another land come at a certain time. Tell them to come together with the elders and judges of each town. Then our God will turn his burning anger away from us concerning this whole matter."
Reference
15
Only a few men opposed that. They included Jonathan and Jahzeiah. Meshullam and the Levite Shabbethai joined them. Jonathan was the son of Asahel. Jahzeiah was the son of Tikvah.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Nehemiah 11:16
16
So those who had returned did what had been suggested. The priest Ezra chose some family leaders. There was one from each family group. All of them were chosen by name. They sat down to check out each case. They started on the first day of the tenth month.
17
By the first day of the first month they were finished. They had handled all of the cases of the men who had gotten married to women from other lands.
18
Among the family lines of the priests, here are the men who had married women from other lands. Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah came from the family line of Jeshua and his brothers. Jeshua was the son of Jehozadak.
Reference
People
19
All of them made a firm promise to send their wives away. Each of those men brought a ram from his flock as a guilt offering.
Reference
21
Maaseiah and Elijah came from the family line of Harim. So did Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
1 Chronicles 24:8
22
Elioenai, Maaseiah and Ishmael came from the family line of Pashhur. So did Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
1 Chronicles 9:12
23
Among the Levites, here are the men who had married women from other lands. There were Jozabad, Shimei and Kelaiah. There were also Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer. Kelaiah's other name was Kelita.
People
24
Eliashib came from the singers. Shallum, Telem and Uri came from the men who guarded the temple gates.
People
25
Among the other Israelites, here are the men who had married women from other lands. Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah and Mijamin came from the family line of Parosh. So did Eleazar, Malkijah and Benaiah.
Reference
People
26
Mattaniah, Zechariah and Jehiel came from the family line of Elam. So did Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Ezra 10:2
27
Elioenai, Eliashib and Mattaniah came from the family line of Zattu. So did Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza.
Reference
People
29
Meshullam, Malluch and Adaiah came from the family line of Bani. So did Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth.
People
30
Adna, Kelal, Benaiah and Maaseiah came from the family line of Pahath-Moab. So did Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh.
People
31
Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah and Shimeon came from the family line of Harim.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Nehemiah 3:11
33
Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad and Eliphelet came from the family line of Hashum. So did Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei.
People
43
Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad and Zebina came from the family line of Nebo. So did Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Ezra 2:29
44
All of those men had married women from other lands. Some of them had even had children by those wives.
Summary of Ezra 10
Ezra Chapter 10 describes the community's response to the problem Ezra identified in the previous chapter: many Israelites, including priests and other leaders, had married women from surrounding peoples. Ezra's grief over the situation brought a large crowd together at the Temple. The people recognized the seriousness of the matter, and Shecaniah son of Jehiel proposed a formal covenant to address the problem. He encouraged Ezra to lead the reform and assured him that the community would support him.
Ezra then required the priests, Levites, and other leaders to swear an oath to follow the agreed plan. A proclamation was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem, calling the returned exiles to gather in Jerusalem. Those who refused to appear would face serious consequences. When the people assembled, they stood in the open area near the Temple during heavy rain. Ezra confronted them directly, declaring that their marriages had increased the community's guilt and calling them to confess their wrongdoing and separate themselves from the practices that threatened their covenant identity.
The people largely accepted the proposal but recognized that the problem was too extensive to resolve in one gathering. They therefore established an organized process in which leaders and judges would investigate each case. Beginning on the first day of the tenth month, they examined the households involved. By the first day of the following first month, the investigation had been completed.
A lengthy list records the priests, Levites, Temple workers, and other Israelites who had married foreign women. The fact that priests and Levites were included is particularly important because religious leaders were expected to model obedience to God's Law. The detailed names demonstrate that the reform was treated as a formal community matter rather than a vague accusation.
The final verse states that the men involved had taken foreign wives and that some had children by them. The chapter therefore ends without providing individual details about what happened to every household after the investigation. Its primary focus is on recognition of the problem, communal repentance, organized investigation, and implementation of reform.
The chapter must also be understood in its historical and religious context. Ezra and the leaders were concerned that relationships with surrounding peoples could lead the restored community back into the religious practices that had contributed to Israel's earlier unfaithfulness. Their goal was to protect the community's covenant identity after the trauma of exile. At the same time, the passage is difficult because it involved families and children and required painful personal decisions.
Ezra 10 concludes the book's major restoration theme. The Temple had been rebuilt, worship had been restored, and Ezra had arrived to teach God's Law. The final obstacle was the spiritual condition of the community itself. The chapter shows that restoration required not only rebuilding buildings and institutions but also confronting behavior that the leaders believed violated God's commands. The book ends with a community attempting to renew its identity and commitment to God after returning from exile.
Ezra then required the priests, Levites, and other leaders to swear an oath to follow the agreed plan. A proclamation was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem, calling the returned exiles to gather in Jerusalem. Those who refused to appear would face serious consequences. When the people assembled, they stood in the open area near the Temple during heavy rain. Ezra confronted them directly, declaring that their marriages had increased the community's guilt and calling them to confess their wrongdoing and separate themselves from the practices that threatened their covenant identity.
The people largely accepted the proposal but recognized that the problem was too extensive to resolve in one gathering. They therefore established an organized process in which leaders and judges would investigate each case. Beginning on the first day of the tenth month, they examined the households involved. By the first day of the following first month, the investigation had been completed.
A lengthy list records the priests, Levites, Temple workers, and other Israelites who had married foreign women. The fact that priests and Levites were included is particularly important because religious leaders were expected to model obedience to God's Law. The detailed names demonstrate that the reform was treated as a formal community matter rather than a vague accusation.
The final verse states that the men involved had taken foreign wives and that some had children by them. The chapter therefore ends without providing individual details about what happened to every household after the investigation. Its primary focus is on recognition of the problem, communal repentance, organized investigation, and implementation of reform.
The chapter must also be understood in its historical and religious context. Ezra and the leaders were concerned that relationships with surrounding peoples could lead the restored community back into the religious practices that had contributed to Israel's earlier unfaithfulness. Their goal was to protect the community's covenant identity after the trauma of exile. At the same time, the passage is difficult because it involved families and children and required painful personal decisions.
Ezra 10 concludes the book's major restoration theme. The Temple had been rebuilt, worship had been restored, and Ezra had arrived to teach God's Law. The final obstacle was the spiritual condition of the community itself. The chapter shows that restoration required not only rebuilding buildings and institutions but also confronting behavior that the leaders believed violated God's commands. The book ends with a community attempting to renew its identity and commitment to God after returning from exile.