25 September - Ezra 7-10

Jude Thu Sep 06, 2018 7:53 am

My soul doth magnify my YAH, and my spirit hath rejoiced in EL my Saviour; For HE that is mighty hath done to me great things; and Holy is HIS Name. Now unto HIM who is ever present in my helpless estate; who is able to keep me from falling and to present me faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy, unto the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the only wise EL our Saviour be honour and glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and for ever Halleluyah!

EZRA 7

1And after these events, in the reign of Artaḥshashta sovereign of Persia, Ezra son of Serayah, son of Azaryah, son of Ḥilqiyah,

2son of Shallum, son of Tsaḏoq, son of Aḥituḇ,

3son of Amaryah, son of Azaryah, son of Merayoth,

4son of Zeraḥyah, son of Uzzi, son of Buqqi,

5son of Aḇishua, son of Phineḥas, son of El‛azar, son of Aharon the chief priest –

6this Ezra came up from Baḇel. And he was a scribe, skilled in the Torah of Mosheh, which יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl had given. And the sovereign gave him all he asked, according to the hand of יהוה his Elohim upon him.

7And some of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and the priests, and the Lĕwites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim came up to Yerushalayim in the seventh year of Sovereign Artaḥshashta.

8And he came to Yerushalayim in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the sovereign.

9For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Baḇel, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Yerushalayim, according to the good hand of his Elohim upon him.

10For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Torah of יהוה, and to do it, and to teach laws and right-rulings in Yisra’ĕl.

11And this is the copy of the letter that Sovereign Artaḥshashta gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, a scribe in the words of the commands of יהוה, and of His laws to Yisra’ĕl:

12Artaḥshashta, sovereign of sovereigns, to Ezra the priest, a perfect scribe of the law of the Elah of heaven. And now,

13I make a decree that all those of the people of Yisra’ĕl and the priests and Lĕwites in my reign, who volunteer to go up to Yerushalayim, go with you.

14Since you are being sent by the sovereign and his seven counsellors to inquire about Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim, with regard to the law of your Elah which is in your hand;

15and to bring the silver and gold which the sovereign and his counsellors have voluntarily given to the Elah of Yisra’ĕl, whose dwelling is in Yerushalayim,

16and all the silver and gold that you find in all the province of Baḇel, along with the gift of the people and the priests, voluntarily given for the House of their Elah in Yerushalayim,

17therefore, with this silver promptly buy bulls, rams, lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the House of your Elah in Yerushalayim.

18And whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the desire of your Elah.

19And the utensils that are given to you for the service of the House of your Elah, put back before the Elah of Yerushalayim.

20And the rest of the needs for the House of your Elah, which falls to you to give, give from the sovereign’s treasure-house.

21And I, I Artaḥshashta the sovereign, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the Elah of heaven, does ask of you, let it be done promptly,

22up to one hundred talents of silver, and up to one hundred kors of wheat, and up to one hundred baths of wine, and up to one hundred baths of oil, and salt without reckoning.

23Whatever is commanded by the Elah of heaven, let it be diligently done for the House of the Elah of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the reign of the sovereign and his sons?

24We further inform you that there is no authority to impose tax, excise, or toll on any of the priests and Lĕwites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, and servants of this House of Elah.

25And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your Elah that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your Elah. And teach those who do not know them.

26And whoever does not do the law of your Elah and the law of the sovereign, let judgment be promptly executed on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

27Blessed be יהוה Elohim of our fathers, who has put this in the sovereign’s heart, to embellish the House of יהוה which is in Yerushalayim,

28and has extended kindness to me before the sovereign and his counsellors, and before all the sovereign’s mighty princes. So I was strengthened, as the hand of יהוה my Elohim was upon me. And I gathered heads from Yisra’ĕl to go up with me.

EZRA 8

1These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Baḇel, in the reign of Sovereign Artaḥshashta:

2of the sons of Phineḥas, Gĕreshom; of the sons of Ithamar, Dani’ĕl; of the sons of Dawiḏ, Ḥattush;

3of the sons of Sheḵanyah, of the sons of Parosh, Zeḵaryah, and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males;

4of the sons of Paḥath-Mo’aḇ, Elyeho‛ĕynai son of Zeraḥyah, and with him two hundred males;

5of the sons of Sheḵanyah, the son of Yaḥazi’ĕl, and with him three hundred males;

6and of the sons of Aḏin, Eḇeḏ son of Yehonathan, and with him fifty males;

7and of the sons of Ěylam, Yeshayah son of Athalyah, and with him seventy males;

8and of the sons of Shephatyah, Zeḇaḏyah son of Miḵa’ĕl, and with him eighty males;

9of the sons of Yo’aḇ, Oḇaḏyah son of Yeḥi’ĕl, and with him two hundred and eighteen males;

10and of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Yosiphyah, and with him one hundred and sixty males;

11and of the sons of Bĕḇai, Zeḵaryah son of Bĕḇai, and with him twenty-eight males;

12and of the sons of Azgaḏ, Yoḥanan son of Haqqatan, and with him one hundred and ten males;

13and of the last sons of Aḏoniqam, whose names are these; Eliphelet, Ye‛i’ĕl, and Shemayah, and with them sixty males;

14and of the sons of Big̅wai, Uthai and Zabbuḏ, and with them seventy males.

15And I assembled them at the river that flows to Ahawa, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and did not find any of the sons of Lĕwi there.

16Then I sent for Eli‛ezer, for Ari’ĕl, for Shemayah, and for Elnathan, and for Yariḇ, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zeḵaryah, and for Meshullam, leaders – also for Yoyariḇ and Elnathan, men of understanding.

17And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Kasiphya, and put in their mouth words to speak to Iddo and his brothers the Nethinim at the place Kasiphya, to bring us servants for the House of our Elohim.

18Then, by the good hand of our Elohim upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Maḥli son of Lĕwi, son of Yisra’ĕl, and Shĕrĕḇyah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen;

19and Ḥashaḇyah, and with him Yeshayah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty;

20and of the Nethinim, whom Dawiḏ and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Lĕwites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim, all of them designated by name.

21I then proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahawa, to humble ourselves before our Elohim, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions,

22for I was ashamed to ask of the sovereign a group of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the sovereign, saying, “The hand of our Elohim is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”

23So we fasted and prayed to our Elohim for this, and He answered our prayer.

24And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests: Shĕrĕḇyah, Ḥashaḇyah, and ten of their brothers with them;

25and weighed out to them the silver, and the gold, and the utensils, the contribution for the House of our Elohim which the sovereign and his counsellors and his heads, and all Yisra’ĕl who were there, had presented.

26Thus I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver objects of one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold,

27and twenty gold basins of a thousand drachmas, and two utensils of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.

28And I said to them, “You are set-apart to יהוה, and the objects are set-apart. And the silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to יהוה Elohim of your fathers.

29“Watch and guard them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Lĕwites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Yisra’ĕl in Yerushalayim, in the rooms of the House of יהוה.”

30So the priests and the Lĕwites took the weight of the silver and the gold and the utensils, to bring them to Yerushalayim to the House of our Elohim.

31Then we set out from the Ahawa River on the twelfth of the first month, to go to Yerushalayim. And the hand of our Elohim was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the way.

32And when we came to Yerushalayim, we dwelt there three days.

33And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed in the House of our Elohim by the hand of Merĕmoth son of Uriyah the priest, and with him was El‛azar son of Phineḥas. And with them were the Lĕwites, Yozaḇaḏ son of Yĕshua and No‛aḏyah son of Binnui,

34with the number and weight of all. And all the weight was written down at that time.

35The sons of the exile, who had come from the captivity, brought burnt offerings to the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl: twelve bulls for all Yisra’ĕl, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering – all as a burnt offering to יהוה.

36And they gave the sovereign’s orders to the sovereign’s viceroys and the governors beyond the River. And they lifted up the people and the House of Elohim.

EZRA 9

1And when these matters had been done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Yisra’ĕl and the priests and the Lĕwites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, as to their abominations, those of the Kena‛anites, the Ḥittites, the Perizzites, the Yeḇusites, the Ammonites, the Mo’aḇites, the Mitsrites, and the Amorites,

2for they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the set-apart seed is intermingled with the peoples of those lands. And the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.”

3And when I heard this word, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.

4Then all those who trembled at the words of the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl gathered to me, because of the trespass of the exiles, and I sat astonished until the evening offering.

5And at the evening offering I rose from my affliction. And having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to יהוה my Elohim,

6and said, “O my Elohim, I am too ashamed and wounded to lift up my face to You, my Elohim, for our crookednesses have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.

7“Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our crookednesses we, our sovereigns, and our priests have been given into the hand of the sovereigns of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder, and to shame of faces, as it is this day.

8“But now, for a short while, favour has been shown from יהוה our Elohim, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His set-apart place, that our Elohim might enlighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

9“For we were slaves, but in our bondage our Elohim did not forsake us, and extended kindness to us in the presence of the sovereigns of Persia, to revive us, to raise up the House of our Elohim, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim.

10“And now, O our Elohim, what do we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commands,

11which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are going in to possess is a land unclean through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, by their abominations with which they have filled it, from one end to another, by their uncleanness.

12‘And now, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons. And do not seek their peace or wealth ever, so that you are strong, and shall eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’

13“And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our Elohim have held back the rod upon our crookednesses, and have given us such deliverance as this,

14should we turn back, to break Your commands, and join in marriage with the people of these abominations? Would You not be enraged with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor?

15“O יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. See, we are before You, in our guilt, for there is no one to stand before You concerning this!”

EZRA 10

1And while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the House of Elohim, a very large assembly – men and women and children – gathered unto him from Yisra’ĕl, for the people wept very bitterly.

2And Sheḵanyah son of Yeḥi’ĕl, one of the sons of Olam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our Elohim, and have taken foreign women from the peoples of the land. And now there is expectancy in Yisra’ĕl concerning this.

3“Now then, let us make a covenant with our Elohim to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the counsel of יהוה and of those who tremble at the command of our Elohim. And let it be done according to the Torah.

4“Arise, for the matter is upon you, but we are with you. Be strong and act.”

5And Ezra rose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Lĕwites, and all Yisra’ĕl, to swear to do according to this word. And they swore.

6Then Ezra rose up from before the House of Elohim, and went into the room of Yehoḥanan son of Elyashiḇ. And he went there – he ate no bread and drank no water for he mourned because of the trespass of the exiles.

7And they passed a call throughout Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim to all the sons of the exile, to gather at Yerushalayim,

8and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, all his goods would be put under a ban, and himself separated from the assembly of the exiles.

9Then all the men of Yehuḏah and Binyamin gathered at Yerushalayim within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month. And all the people sat in the open space of the House of Elohim, trembling because of the matter and because of showers of rain.

10And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You, you have trespassed and have taken foreign women, adding to the guilt of Yisra’ĕl.

11“And now, make confession to יהוה Elohim of your fathers, and do His desire, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.”

12And all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Right! It is upon us to do according to your word.

13“But the people are many, and it is the season of showers of rain, and we are not able to stand outside. And the work not of one or two days, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.

14“Please, let the leaders of all the assembly stand. And let all those in our cities who have taken foreign women come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until the burning wrath of our Elohim is turned away from us in this matter.”

15Only Yonathan son of Asah’ĕl and Yaḥzeyah son of Tiqwah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Lĕwite gave them support.

16Then the sons of the exile did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of the fathers’ houses, were separated by the fathers’ houses, each of them by name. And they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

17And they finished with all the men who had taken foreign women by the first day of the second month.

18And among the sons of the priests who had taken foreign women were found of the sons of Yĕshua son of Yotsaḏaq, and his brothers: Ma‛asĕyah, and Eli‛ezer, and Yariḇ, and Geḏalyah.

19And they gave their hand in pledge to put away their wives. And being guilty, they presented a ram of the flock for their guilt.

20And of the sons of Immĕr: Ḥanani and Zeḇaḏyah;

21and of the sons of Ḥarim: Ma‛asĕyah, and Ěliyah, and Shemayah, and Yeḥi’ĕl, and Uzziyah;

22and of the sons of Pashhur: Elyo‛ĕynai, Ma‛asĕyah, Yishma‛ĕl, Nethanĕ’l, Yozaḇaḏ, and El‛asah.

23And of the Lĕwites: Yozaḇaḏ, Shim‛i, Qĕlayah – he is Qelita – Pethaḥyah, Yehuḏah, and Eli‛ezer.

24And of the singers: Elyashiḇ. And of the gatekeepers: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

25And of Yisra’ĕl of the sons of Parosh: Ramyah, and Yizziyah, and Malkiyah, and Miyamin, and El‛azar, and Malkiyah, and Benayah;

26and of the sons of Ěylam: Mattanyah, Zeḵaryah, and Yeḥi’ĕl, and Aḇdi, and Yerĕmoth, and Ěliyah;

27and of the sons of Zattu: Elyo‛ĕynai, Elyashiḇ, Mattanyah, and Yerĕmoth, and Zaḇaḏ, and Aziza;

28and of the sons of Bĕḇai: Yehoḥanan, Ḥananyah, Zabbai, and Athlai;

29and of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluḵ, and Aḏayah, Yashuḇ, and She’al, Ramoth;

30and of the sons of Paḥath-Mo’aḇ: Aḏna, and Kelal, Benayah, Ma‛asĕyah, Mattanyah, Betsal’ĕl, and Binnui, and Menashsheh;

31and of the sons of Ḥarim: Eli‛ezer, Yishshiyah, Malkiyah, Shemayah, Shim‛on,

32Binyamin, Malluḵ, and Shemaryah;

33of the sons of Ḥashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zaḇaḏ, Eliphelet, Yerĕmai, Menashsheh, and Shim‛i;

34of the sons of Bani: Ma‛aḏai, Amram, and U’ĕl,

35Benayah, Bĕḏeyah, Keluhu,

36Wanyah, Merĕmoth, Elyashiḇ,

37Mattanyah, Mattenai, and Ya‛asu,

38and Bani, and Binnui, Shim‛i,

39and Shelemyah, and Nathan, and Aḏayah,

40Maḵnaḏeḇai, Shashai, Sharai,

41Azar’ĕl, and Shelemyahu, Shemaryah,

42Shallum, Amaryah, and Yosĕph;

43of the sons of Neḇo: Ye‛i’ĕl, Mattithyah, Zaḇaḏ, Zeḇina, Yaddu, and Yo’ĕl, Benayah.

44All these had taken foreign women, and some of them had women who had borne children.