Ezra Chapter 9

8 And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

9 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

10 And I sent them forth unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should say unto Iddo,

11 and his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.

12 And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;

13 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

14 and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were mentioned by name.

15 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 Now when these things were completed, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, [even] of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites;

2 for they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and have mingled the holy seed with the peoples of the lands; and the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this unfaithfulness.

3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down overwhelmed.

4 Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the words of theGod of Israel, because of the unfaithfulness of those that had been carried away; and I sat overwhelmed until the evening oblation.

5 And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation; and with my mantle and my garment rent, I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Jehovah myGod,

6 and said: O myGod, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, myGod; for our iniquities are increased over [our] head, and our trespass is grown up to the heavens.

7 Since the days of our fathers, we have been in great trespass to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, our priests, have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, and to captivity, and to spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

8 And now for a little space there hath been favour from Jehovah ourGod, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that ourGod may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

9 For we are bondmen; yet ourGod hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us before the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of ourGod and to repair the ruins thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

10 And now, what shall we say, ourGod, after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

11 which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess [it], is an unclean land through the filthiness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations with which they have filled it from one end to another through their uncleanness.

12 Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity for ever; that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.

13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass, seeing that thou ourGod hast punished us less than our iniquities [deserve], and hast given us such deliverance as this,

14 should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples of these abominations? wouldest thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor any to escape?

15 Jehovah,God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are a remnant that is escaped, as [it is] this day. Behold, we are before thee in our trespasses; for there is no standing before thee because of this.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And when these things were finished, the princes drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands in their abominations, [even] the Chananite, the Ethite, the Pherezite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, and the Moserite and the Amorite.

2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and their sons; and the holy seed has passed among the nations of the lands, and the hand of the rulers [has been] first in this transgression.

3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garments, and trembled, and plucked [some] of the hairs of my head and of my beard, and sat down mourning.

4 Then there assembled to me all that followed the word of the God of Israel, on account of the transgression of the captivity; and I remained mourning until the evening sacrifice.

5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my humiliation; and when I had rent my garments, then I trembled, and I bow myself on my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord God,

6 and I said, O Lord, I am ashamed and confounded, O my God, to lift up my face to thee: for our transgressions have abounded over our head, and our trespasses have increased even to heaven.

7 From the days of our fathers we have been in a great trespass until this day: and because of our iniquities we, and our kings, and our children, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the Gentiles by the sword, and by captivity, and by spoil, and with shame of our face, as at this day.

8 And now our God has dealt mercifully with us, so as to leave us to escape, and to give us an establishment in the place of his sanctuary, to enlighten our eyes, and to give a little quickening in our servitude.

9 For we are slaves, yet in our servitude the Lord our God has not deserted us; and he has extended favour to us in the sight of the kings of the Persians, to give us a quickening, that they should raise up the house of our God, and restore the desolate places of it, and to give us a fence in Juda and Jerusalem.

10 What shall we say, our God, after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

11 which thou hast given us by the hand of thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, into which ye go to inherit it, is a land subject to disturbance by the removal of the people of the nations for their abominations, wherewith they have filled it from one end to the other by their uncleannesses.

12 And now give not your daughters to their sons, and take not of their daughters for your sons, neither shall ye seek their peace or their good for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and transmit it as an inheritance to your children for ever.

13 And after all that is come upon us because of our evil deeds, and our great trespass, [it is clear] that there is none such as our God, for thou hast lightly visited our iniquities, and given us deliverance;

14 whereas we have repeatedly broken thy commandments, and intermarried with the people of the lands: be not very angry with us to [our] utter destruction, so that there should be no remnant or escaping one.

15 O Lord God of Israel, thou [art] righteous; for we remain [yet] escaped, as at this day: behold, we [are] before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee on this account.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Postquam autem hæc completa sunt, accesserunt ad me principes, dicentes: Non est separatus populus Israel, Sacerdotes et Levitæ a populis terrarum, et abominationibus eorum Chananæi videlicet, et Hethæi, et Pherezæi, et Iebusæi, et Ammonitarum, et Moabitarum, et Ægyptiorum, et Amorrhæorum:

2 tulerunt enim de filiabus eorum sibi et filiis suis, et commiscuerunt semen sanctum cum populis terrarum: manus etiam principum et magistratuum fuit in transgressione hac prima.

3 Cumque audissem sermonem istum, scidi pallium meum et tunicam, et evelli capillos capitis mei et barbæ, et sedi mœrens.

4 Convenerunt autem ad me omnes, qui timebant verbum Dei Israel, pro transgressione eorum, qui de captivitate venerant, et ego sedebam tristis usque ad sacrificium vespertinum:

5 et in sacrificio vespertino surrexi de afflictione mea, et scisso pallio et tunica, curvavi genua mea, et expandi manus meas ad Dominum Deum meum,

6 et dixi: Deus meus, confundor et erubesco levare faciem meam ad te: quoniam iniquitates nostræ multiplicatæ sunt super caput nostrum, et delicta nostra creverunt usque ad cælum

7 a diebus patrum nostrorum: sed et nos ipsi peccavimus graviter usque ad diem hanc, et in iniquitatibus nostris traditi sumus ipsi, et reges nostri, et Sacerdotes nostri in manum regum terrarum, et in gladium, et in captivitatem, et in rapinam, et in confusionem vultus, sicut et die hac.

8 Et nunc quasi parum et ad momentum facta est deprecatio nostra apud Dominum Deum nostrum, ut dimitterentur nobis reliquiæ, et daretur nobis paxillus in loco sancto eius, et illuminaret oculos nostros Deus noster, et daret nobis vitam modicam in servitute nostra,

9 quia servi sumus, et in servitute nostra non dereliquit nos Deus noster, sed inclinavit super nos misericordiam coram rege Persarum, ut daret nobis vitam, et sublimaret domum Dei nostri, et extrueret solitudines eius, et daret nobis sepem in Iuda et Ierusalem.

10 Et nunc quid dicemus Deus noster post hæc? quia dereliquimus mandata tua,

11 quæ præcepisti in manu servorum tuorum prophetarum, dicens: Terra, ad quam vos ingredimini ut possideatis eam, terra immunda est iuxta immunditiam populorum, ceterarumque terrarum, abominationibus eorum qui repleverunt eam ab ore usque ad os in coinquinatione sua.

12 Nunc ergo filias vestras ne detis filiis eorum, et filias eorum ne accipiatis filiis vestris, et non quæratis pacem eorum, et prosperitatem eorum usque in æternum: ut confortemini, et comedatis quæ bona sunt terræ, et heredes habeatis filios vestros usque in sæculum.

13 Et post omnia quæ venerunt super nos in operibus nostris pessimis, et in delicto nostro magno, quia tu Deus noster liberasti nos de iniquitate nostra, et dedisti nobis salutem sicut est hodie,

14 ut non converteremur, et irrita faceremus mandata tua, neque matrimonia iungeremus cum populis abominationum istarum. Numquid iratus es nobis usque ad consummationem ne dimitteres nobis reliquias ad salutem?

15 Domine Deus Israel iustus es tu: quoniam derelicti sumus, qui salvaremur sicut die hac. Ecce coram te sumus in delicto nostro. non enim stari potest coram te super hoc.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 Now when these things were done, the princes came near to me, saying, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, following their abominations, even those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy offspring have mixed themselves with the peoples of the lands. Yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass.”

3 When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.

4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel were assembled to me because of the trespass of the exiles; and I sat confounded until the evening offering.

5 At the evening offering I rose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to the LORD my God;

6 and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.

7 Since the days of our fathers we have been exceedingly guilty to this day; 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 confusion of face, as it is this day.

8 Now for a little moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a stake in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and revive us a little in our bondage.

9 For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to set up the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

10 “Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments,

11 which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land to which you go to possess is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness.

12 Now therefore don’t give your daughters to their sons. Don’t take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’

13 “After all that has come on 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 a remnant,

14 shall we again break your commandments, and join ourselves with the peoples that do these abominations? Wouldn’t you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant, nor any to escape?

15 LORD, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guiltiness; for no one can stand before you because of this.”

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 And at the completion of these things, drawn nigh unto me have the heads, saying, `The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not been separated from the peoples of the lands, as to their abominations, even the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, the Egyptian, and the Amorite,

2 for they have taken of their daughters to them, and to their sons, and the holy seed have mingled themselves among the peoples of the lands, and the hand of the heads and of the seconds have been first in this trespass.'

3 And at my hearing this word, I have rent my garment and my upper robe, and pluck out of the hair of my head, and of my beard, and sit astonished,

4 and unto me are gathered every one trembling at the words of the God of Israel, because of the trespass of the removal, and I am sitting astonished till the present of the evening.

5 And at the present of the evening I have risen from mine affliction, and at my rending my garment and my upper robe, then I bow down on my knees, and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God,

6 and say, `O my God, I have been ashamed, and have blushed to lift up, O my God, my face unto Thee, for our iniquities have increased over the head, and our guilt hath become great unto the heavens.

7 `From the days of our fathers we <FI>are<Fi> in great guilt unto this day, and in our iniquities we have been given--we, our kings, our priests--into the hand of the kings of the lands, with sword, with captivity, and with spoiling, and with shame of face, as <FI>at<Fi> this day.

8 `And now, as a small moment hath grace been from Jehovah our God, to leave to us an escape, and to give to us a nail in His holy place, by our God's enlightening our eyes, and by giving us a little quickening in our servitude;

9 for servants we <FI>are<Fi> , and in our servitude our God hath not forsaken us, and stretcheth out unto us kindness before the kings of Persia, to give to us a quickening to lift up the house of our God, and to cause its wastes to cease, and to give to us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

10 `And now, what do we say, O our God, after this? for we have forsaken Thy commands,

11 that Thou hast commanded by the hands of thy servants the prophets, saying, The land into which ye are going to possess it, <FI>is<Fi> a land of impurity, by the impurity of the people of the lands, by their abominations with which they have filled it--from mouth unto mouth--by their uncleanness;

12 and now, your daughters ye do not give to their sons, and their daughters ye do not take to your sons, and ye do not seek their peace, and their good--unto the age, so that ye are strong, and have eaten the good of the land, and given possession to your sons unto the age.

13 `And after all that hath come upon us for our evil works, and for our great guilt (for Thou, O our God, hast kept back of the rod from our iniquities, and hast given to us an escape like this),

14 do we turn back to break Thy commands, and to join ourselves in marriage with the people of these abominations? art not Thou angry against us--even to consumption--till there is no remnant and escaped part?

15 `O Jehovah, God of Israel, righteous <FI>art<Fi> Thou, for we have been left an escape, as <FI>it is<Fi> this day; lo, we <FI>are<Fi> before Thee in our guilt, for there is none to stand before Thee concerning this.'

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).