Ezra Chapter 9

Ezra Chapter 9
1 When as these things were done, the
rulers came to me, saying, The people of
Israel, and the priests, and the Levites
are not separated from the people of the
lands (as touching their abominations) to
wit, of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites,
the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the
Amorites.
2 For they have taken their daughters to
themselves, and to their sons, and they
have mixed the holy seed with the
people of the lands, and the hand of the
princes and rulers hath been chief in this
trespass.
3 But when I heard this saying, I rent my
clothes and my garment, and plucked off
the hair of mine head, and of my beard,
and sat down astonied. 4 And there
assembled unto me all that feared the
words of the God of Israel, because of
the transgression of them of the captivity.
And I sat down astonied until the
evening sacrifice.
5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up
from mine heaviness, and when I had
rent my clothes and my garment, I fell
upon my knees, and spread out mine
hands unto the Lord my God,
6 And said, O my God, I am confounded
and ashamed, to lift up mine eyes unto
thee my God: for our iniquities are
increased over our head, and our
trespass is grown up unto the heaven.
7 From the days of our fathers have we
been in a great trespass unto this day,
and for our iniquities have we, our
kings, and our priests been delivered
into the hand of the kings of the lands,
unto the sword, into captivity, into a
spoil, and into confusion of face, as
appeareth this day. 8 And now for a
little space grace hath been showed from
the Lord our God, in causing a remnant
to escape, and in giving us a nail in his
holy place, that our God may light our
eyes, and give us a little reviving in our
servitude. 9 For though we were
bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken
us in our bondage, but hath inclined
mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of
Persia, to give us life, and to erect the
house of our God, and to redress the
places thereof, and to give us a wall in
Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 And now, our God, what shall we say
after this? For we have forsaken thy
commandments,
11 Which thou hast commanded by thy
servants the prophets, saying, The land
whereunto ye go to possess it, is an
unclean land, because of the filthiness of
the people of the lands, which by their
abominations, and by their uncleanness
have filled it from corner to corner.
12 Now therefore shall ye not give your
daughters unto their sons, neither shall
ye take their daughters unto your sons,
nor seek their peace nor wealth forever,
that ye may be strong and eat the
goodness of the land, and leave it for an
inheritance to your sons forever.
13 And after all that is come upon us for
our evil deeds, and for our great
trespasses, (seeing that thou our God
hast stayed us from being beneath for
our iniquities, and hast given us such
deliverance)
14 Should we return to break thy
commandments, and join in affinitiy with
the people of such abominations?
Wouldest not thou be angry toward us
till thou hadst consumed us, so that there
should be no remnant nor any escaping?
15 O Lord God of Israel, thou art just,
for we have been reserved to escape, as
appeareth this day: behold, we are
before thee in our trespass: therefore we
cannot stand before thee because of it.