So the Israelis who had returned from captivity ate the Passover with all who had consecrated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel.

They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he encouraged them and strengthened their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

After these events, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra—

Seraiah’s son, Azariah’s son,
Hilkiah’s son,

Shallum’s son,
Zadok’s son, Ahitub’s son,

Amariah’s son, Azariah’s son,
Meraioth’s son,

Zerahiah’s son,
Uzzi’s son, Bukki’s son,

Abishua’s son, Phinehas’s son,
Eleazar’s son, Aaron the chief priest’s son

So then there came up some of the sons of Israel, and some of the priests and the Levites and the singers and the doorkeepers and the Nethinim, unto Jerusalem, - in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the king's rule.

For Ezra had set his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, to obey it, and to teach God's statutes and judgments in Israel.

This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in matters of the Lord’s commands and statutes for Israel:

Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth.

I hereby decree that all of the people of Israel along with their priests and descendants of Levi in my kingdom who are determined to return to Jerusalem with you may do so.

So with this money get with care oxen, sheep, and lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, to be offered on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem.

And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house.

And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, now give orders to all keepers of the king's money across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may have need of from you, is to be done with all care,

Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for the house of the God of heaven, so that wrath will not fall on the realm of the king and his sons.

And you, Ezra, according to God’s wisdom that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the region west of the Euphrates who know the laws of your God and to teach anyone who does not know them.

Whoever refuses to practice the law of your God and the law of the king is to see judgment executed quickly, whether to death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:

And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellers, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

Gershom, from Phinehas’s descendants;
Daniel, from Ithamar’s descendants;
Hattush, from David’s descendants,

who was of Shecaniah’s descendants;
Zechariah, from Parosh’s descendants,
and 150 men with him who were registered by genealogy;

Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah
from Pahath-moab’s descendants,
and 200 men with him;

Shecaniah son of Jahaziel
from Zattu’s descendants,
and 300 men with him;

Ebed son of Jonathan
from Adin’s descendants,
and 50 men with him;

Jeshaiah son of Athaliah
from Elam’s descendants,
and 70 men with him;

Zebadiah son of Michael
from Shephatiah’s descendants,
and 80 men with him;

Obadiah son of Jehiel
from Joab’s descendants,
and 218 men with him;

Shelomith son of Josiphiah
from Bani’s descendants,
and 160 men with him;

Zechariah son of Bebai
from Bebai’s descendants,
and 28 men with him;

Johanan son of Hakkatan
from Azgad’s descendants,
and 110 men with him;

these are the last ones, from Adonikam’s descendants,
and their names are:
Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah,
and 60 men with them;

Uthai and Zaccur
from Bigvai’s descendants,
and 70 men with them.

And I made them come together by the river flowing to Ahava; and we were there in tents for three days: and after viewing the people and the priests I saw that no sons of Levi were there.

So I sent 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, teachers.

And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.

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

I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.

So I put on one side twelve of the chiefs of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,

And I say unto them, 'Ye are holy to Jehovah, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a willing-offering to Jehovah, God of your fathers;

Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the Lord’s house before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families in Jerusalem.”

So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.

Then we left the Ahava River for Jerusalem on the twelfth day of the first month. Our God's protection was with us, and he delivered us from the enemy's power and from ambush along the way.

So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days.

On the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the vessels were distributed at the Temple of our God into the care of Uriah's son Meremoth the priest, Phinehas' son Eleazar, Jeshua's son Jozabad, and Binnui's son Noadiah, the descendants of Levi.

And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.

For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

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.

'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;

Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

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.

"Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.

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

O Lord God of Israel, righteousness is yours; we are only a small band which has been kept from death, as at this day: see, we are before you in our sin; for no one may keep his place before you because of this.

And at Ezra's praying, and at his making confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there have been gathered unto him out of Israel an assembly very great -- men and women and children -- for the people have wept, multiplying weeping.

Jehiel's son Shecaniah, one of Elam's descendants, responded to Ezra: "We have sinned against our God by marrying foreign wives from the people of the land, but even now there is hope in Israel, despite this.

So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all of these women and their offspring, according to the advice of my lord and those who tremble at the commandment of our God. Let it be done according to the law.

So get up it's your responsibility! We're with you. Be strong, and get to work."

Then arose Ezra, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they sware.

Then Ezra got up from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib [and spent the night there]. He did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the [former] exiles’ faithlessness.

So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt.

So now, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from [your] foreign wives.”

Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.

However, many people are involved, and it's raining heavily. Furthermore, this is not just a matter of a day or two of work, because many of us have sinned in this.

So now let our rulers be representatives for all the people, and let all those in our towns who are married to strange women come at fixed times, and with them the responsible men and the judges of every town, till the burning wrath of our God is turned away from us, and this has been done.

Only Asahel's son Jonathan and Tikvah's son Jahzeiah opposed this, and they were supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the descendant of Levi.

And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

Here is a list of priestly descendants who were found to have married foreign women. From Jeshua's descendants: Jozadak's son and his brothers Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

Hanani and Zebadiah from Immer’s descendants;

Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah from Harim’s descendants;

Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur’s descendants.

The Israelites:

Parosh’s descendants: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah;

Elam’s descendants: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah;

Zattu’s descendants: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza;

Bebai’s descendants: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai;

Bani’s descendants: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth;

Pahath-moab’s descendants: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh;

Harim’s descendants: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

Hashum’s descendants: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei;

Bani’s descendants: Maadai, Amram, Uel,

Nebo’s descendants: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

The history of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. Now it came about, in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, when I was in Shushan, the king's town,

that Hanani one of my brethren came, he and certain men out of Judah, - so I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

and they say to me, 'Those left, who have been left of the captivity there in the province, are in great evil, and in reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burnt with fire.'

And I say, 'I beseech thee, O Jehovah, God of the heavens, God, the great and the fearful, keeping the covenant and kindness for those loving Him, and for those keeping His commands,

Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

"I confess the sins that we Israelis have committed against you. Both I and my father's house have sinned. We have abandoned you by not keeping your commands, your ceremonies, and your judgments that you proscribed to your servant Moses.

O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

And it came to pass, in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that, wine, was before him, - so I took up the wine, and gave unto the king, and I had never been sad before him.

So the king said to me, “Why do you look sad when you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very frightened,

and say to the king, 'Let the king to the age live! wherefore should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of the graves of my fathers, is a waste, and its gates have been consumed with fire?'

Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

and say to the king, 'If to the king it be good, and if thy servant be pleasing before thee, that thou send me unto Judah, unto the city of the graves of my fathers, and I built it.'

And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

And I say to the king, 'If to the king it be good, letters let be given to me for the governors beyond the River, that they let me pass over till that I come in unto Judah:

And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.