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Ezra 10

The People Confess Their Sins

10 While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites—men, women, and children alike—gathered around him. The people wept loudly.^[a] ²Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam,^[b] addressed Ezra:

“We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying^[c] foreign women from the local peoples.^[d] Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard.^[e] ³Therefore let us enact^[f] a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord,^[g] and that of those who respect^[h] the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law. ⁴Get up, for this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and act decisively!”

⁵So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan.^[i] And they all took a solemn oath. ⁶Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed^[j] there, he did not eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles.

⁷A proclamation^[k] was circulated^[l] throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem. ⁸Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property, in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders. Furthermore, he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹All the men of Judah and Benjamin were gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. (It was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of that month.) All the people sat in the square at the temple of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains.

¹⁰Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents^[m] and from these foreign wives.”

¹²All the assembly replied in a loud voice: “We will do just as you have said!^[n] ¹³However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season.^[o] We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter. ¹⁴Let our leaders take steps^[p] on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”

¹⁵Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah were^[q] against this, assisted by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite. ¹⁶So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out^[r] by name men who were leaders in their family groups.^[s] They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month, ¹⁷and on the first day of the first month they finished considering all the men who had married foreign wives.

Those Who Had Taken Foreign Wives

¹⁸It was determined^[t] that from the descendants of the priests, the following had taken foreign wives: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹(They gave their word^[u] to send away their wives; their guilt offering was a ram from the flock for their guilt.)

²⁰From the descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

²¹From the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

²²From the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³From the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also known as Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴From the singers: Eliashib. From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵From the Israelites: from the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.

²⁶From the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

²⁷From the descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

²⁸From the descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

²⁹From the descendants of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.

³⁰From the descendants of Pahath Moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

³¹From^[v] the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³²Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

³³From the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

³⁴From the descendants of Bani:^[w] Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, ³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

³⁸From^[x] the descendants of Binnui: Shimei, ³⁹Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴²Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

⁴³From the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

⁴⁴All these had taken foreign wives, and some of them also had children by these women.^[y]

Footnotes

Ezra 10:1 tn Heb “with much weeping.”
Ezra 10:2 tc The translation reads with the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate עֵילָם (ʿelam, “Elam”) rather than the reading עוֹלָם (ʿolam, “eternity”) found in the MT.
Ezra 10:2 tn Heb “in that we have given a dwelling to.” So also in vv. 14, 17, 18.
Ezra 10:2 tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
Ezra 10:2 tn Heb “upon this.”
Ezra 10:3 tn Heb “cut.”
Ezra 10:3 tn The MT vocalizes this word as a plural, which could be understood as a reference to God, but the context seems to suggest that a human lord is intended. The apparatus of BHS suggests repointing the word as a singular (“my lord”), but this is unnecessary. The plural (“my lords”) can be understood in an honorific sense even when a human being is in view. Most English versions regard this as a reference to Ezra, so the present translation supplies “your” before “counsel” to make this clear.
Ezra 10:3 tn Heb “who tremble at”; NAB, NIV “who fear.”
Ezra 10:5 tn Heb “to do according to this plan.”
Ezra 10:6 tc The translation reads וַיָּלֶן (vayyalen, “and he stayed”) rather than the reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “and he went”) of the MT. Cf. the LXX.
Ezra 10:7 tn Heb “voice.”
Ezra 10:7 tn Heb “they sent.”
Ezra 10:11 tn Heb “the peoples of the land.”
Ezra 10:12 tn Heb “thus according to your word [singular = Qere] concerning us, to do.”
Ezra 10:13 tn Heb “the time [is] rain showers.”
Ezra 10:14 tn Heb “stand.”
Ezra 10:15 tn Heb “stood.”
Ezra 10:16 tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּבְדֵּל לוֹ (vayyavdel lo, “separated for himself”) rather than the Niphal plural וַיִּבָּדְלוּ (vayyibbad^elu, “were separated”) of the MT.
Ezra 10:16 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”
Ezra 10:18 tn Heb “found.”
Ezra 10:19 tn Heb “hand.”
Ezra 10:31 tc The translation reads with many medieval Hebrew mss and ancient versions וּמִבְּנֵי (umibb^ene, “and from the sons of”) rather than the reading וּבְנֵי (uvene, “and the sons of”) found in the MT.
Ezra 10:34 tn The name “Bani” appears in both v. 29 and v. 34. One of these names has probably undergone alteration in the transmission process, but it is not clear exactly where the problem lies or how it should be corrected.
Ezra 10:38 tc The translation reads וּמִבְּנֵי בִנּוּי (umibb^ene vinnuy, “and from the sons of Binnui”) rather than the reading וּבָנִי וּבִנּוּי (uvani uvinnuy, “and Bani and Binnui”) of the MT.
Ezra 10:44 tc The final statement in v. 44 is difficult in terms of both its syntax and its meaning. The present translation attempts to make sense of the MT. But the passage may have undergone textual variation in the transmission process. One proposal is that the text should be emended to read “and they sent these wives and children away” (cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV).

1 Corinthians 6

Lawsuits

6 When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints? ²Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits? ³Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters! ⁴So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church?^[a] ⁵I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians?^[b] ⁶Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian,^[c] and do this before unbelievers? ⁷The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!^[d]

⁹Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners,^[e] practicing homosexuals,^[f] ¹⁰thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive,^[g] and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹Some of you once lived this way.^[h] But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ^[i] and by the Spirit of our God.

Flee Sexual Immorality

¹²“All things are lawful for me”^[j]—but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything. ¹³“Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both.”^[k] The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power. ¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶Or do you not know that anyone who is united with^[l] a prostitute is one body with her?^[m] For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”^[n] ¹⁷But the one united with^[o] the Lord is one spirit with him.^[p] ¹⁸Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body”^[q]—but the immoral person sins against his own body. ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,^[r] whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 6:4 tn Or “if you have ordinary lawsuits, appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church!” This alternative reading (cf. KJV, NIV) takes the Greek verb καθίζετε (kathizete) as an ironic imperative instead of a question. This verb comes, however, at the end of the sentence. It is not impossible that Paul meant for it to be understood this way, but its placement in the sentence does not make this probable.
1 Corinthians 6:5 tn Grk “to decide between his brother (and his opponent),” but see the note on the word “Christian” in 5:11.
1 Corinthians 6:6 tn Grk “does a brother sue a brother,” but see the note on the word “Christian” in 5:11.
1 Corinthians 6:8 tn Grk “brothers.” The Greek term “brother” literally refers to family relationships, but here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a). See also the note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.
1 Corinthians 6:9 tn This term is sometimes rendered “effeminate,” although in contemporary English usage such a translation could be taken to refer to demeanor rather than behavior. BDAG 613 s.v. μαλακός 2 has “pert. to being passive in a same-sex relationship, effeminate esp. of catamites, of men and boys who are sodomized by other males in such a relationship.” L&N 88.281 states, “the passive male partner in homosexual intercourse—‘homosexual.’…As in Greek, a number of other languages also have entirely distinct terms for the active and passive roles in homosexual intercourse.” See also the discussion in G. D. Fee, First Corinthians (NICNT), 243-44. A number of modern translations have adopted the phrase “male prostitutes” for μαλακοί in 1 Cor 6:9 (NIV, NRSV, NLT) but this could be misunderstood by the modern reader to mean “males who sell their services to women,” while the term in question appears, at least in context, to relate to homosexual activity between males. Furthermore, it is far from certain that prostitution as commonly understood (the selling of sexual favors) is specified here, as opposed to a consensual relationship. Thus the translation “passive homosexual partners” has been used here.
1 Corinthians 6:9 tn On this term BDAG 135 s.v. ἀρσενοκοίτης states, “a male who engages in sexual activity w. a pers. of his own sex, pederast 1 Cor 6:9…of one who assumes the dominant role in same-sex activity, opp. μαλακός…1 Ti 1:10; Pol 5:3. Cp. Ro 1:27.” L&N 88.280 states, “a male partner in homosexual intercourse—‘homosexual.’…It is possible that ἀρσενοκοίτης in certain contexts refers to the active male partner in homosexual intercourse in contrast with μαλακός, the passive male partner.” Since there is a distinction in contemporary usage between sexual orientation and actual behavior, the qualification “practicing” was supplied in the translation, following the emphasis in BDAG.
1 Corinthians 6:10 tn Or “revilers”; BDAG 602 s.v. λοίδορος defines the term as “reviler, abusive person.” Because the term “abusive” without further qualification has become associated in contemporary English with both physical and sexual abuse, the qualifier “verbally” has been supplied in the translation.
1 Corinthians 6:11 tn Grk “and some [of you] were these.”
1 Corinthians 6:11 tc The external evidence in support of the reading ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Iēsou Christou, “Jesus Christ”) is quite impressive: P^11vid,46 א B C^vid D* P 33 81 104 365 629 630 1739 1881 2464 al lat bo as well as several fathers, while the reading with merely ᾿Ιησοῦ has significantly poorer support (A D² Ψ M sa). Although the wording of the original could certainly have been expanded, it is also possible that Χριστοῦ as a nomen sacrum could have accidentally dropped out. Although the latter is not as likely under normal circumstances, in light of the early and widespread witnesses for the fuller expression, the wording of the Ausgangstext seems to have been ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
1 Corinthians 6:12 sn All things are lawful for me. In the expressions in vv. 12-13 within quotation marks, Paul cites certain slogans the Corinthians apparently used to justify their behavior. Paul agrees with the slogans in part, but corrects them to show how the Corinthians have misused these ideas.
1 Corinthians 6:13 tn Grk “both this [stomach] and these [foods].”sn There is debate as to the extent of the Corinthian slogan which Paul quotes here. Some argue that the slogan is only the first sentence—“Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food”—with the second statement forming Paul’s rejoinder, while others argue that the slogan contains both sentences (as in the translation above). The argument which favors the latter is the tight conceptual and grammatical parallelism which occurs if Paul’s response begins with “The body is not for sexual immorality” and then continues through the end of v. 14. For discussion and diagrams of this structure, see G. D. Fee, First Corinthians (NICNT), 253-57.
1 Corinthians 6:16 tn Or “is in relationship with.”
1 Corinthians 6:16 tn Grk “is one body,” implying the association “with her.”
1 Corinthians 6:16 sn A quotation from Gen 2:24.
1 Corinthians 6:17 tn Grk “in relationship with.”
1 Corinthians 6:17 tn Grk “is one spirit,” implying the association “with him.”
1 Corinthians 6:18 sn It is debated whether this is a Corinthian slogan. If it is not, then Paul is essentially arguing that there are two types of sin, nonsexual sins which take place outside the body and sexual sins which are against a person’s very own body. If it is a Corinthian slogan, then it is a slogan used by the Corinthians to justify their immoral behavior. With it they are claiming that anything done in the body or through the body had no moral relevance. A decision here is very difficult, but the latter is to be preferred for two main reasons. (1) This is the most natural understanding of the statement as it is written. To construe it as a statement by Paul requires a substantial clarification in the sense (e.g., “All other sins…” [NIV]). (2) Theologically the former is more difficult: Why would Paul single out sexual sins as more intrinsically related to the body than other sins, such as gluttony or drunkenness? For these reasons, it is more likely that the phrase in quotation marks is indeed a Corinthian slogan which Paul turns against them in the course of his argument, although the decision must be regarded as tentative.
1 Corinthians 6:19 tn Grk “the ‘in you’ Holy Spirit.” The position of the prepositional phrase ἐν ὑμῖν (en humin, “in you”) between the article and the adjective effectively places the prepositional phrase in first attributive position. Such constructions are generally translated into English as relative clauses.

Psalm 31:9-18

⁹Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim^[a] from suffering.^[b]
I have lost my strength.^[c]
¹⁰For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.^[d]
My strength fails me because of^[e] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.^[f]
¹¹Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;^[g]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering^[h]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;^[i]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
¹²I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;^[j]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.^[k]
¹³For I hear what so many are saying,^[l]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.^[m]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
¹⁴But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
¹⁵You determine my destiny.^[n]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
¹⁶Smile^[o] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
¹⁷O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you.
May evil men be humiliated.
May they go wailing to the grave.^[p]
¹⁸May lying lips be silenced—
lips^[q] that speak defiantly against the innocent^[r]
with arrogance and contempt.

Footnotes

Psalm 31:9 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
Psalm 31:9 tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.
Psalm 31:9 tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “stumbles in.”
Psalm 31:10 tn Heb “grow weak.”
Psalm 31:11 tn Heb “because of all my enemies I am a reproach.”
Psalm 31:11 tc Heb “and to my neighbors, exceedingly.” If the MT is retained, then these words probably go with what precedes. However the syntactical awkwardness of the text suggests a revision may be needed. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 258) suggests that the initial mem (מ) on מְאֹד (meʾod, “exceedingly”) be understood as an enclitic mem (ם) which was originally suffixed to the preceding form and then later misinterpreted. The resulting form אֵד (ʾed) can then be taken as a defectively written form of אֵיד (ʾed, “calamity”). If one follows this emendation, then the text reads literally, “and to my neighbors [I am one who experiences] calamity.” The noun פַחַד (fakhad, “[object of] horror”) occurs in the next line; אֵיד and פַחַד appear in parallelism elsewhere (see Prov 1:26-27).
Psalm 31:11 tn Heb “and [an object of ] horror to those known by me.”
Psalm 31:12 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
Psalm 31:12 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
Psalm 31:13 tn Heb “the report of many.”
Psalm 31:13 tn Heb “the terror from all around.”
Psalm 31:15 tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”
Psalm 31:16 tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”
Psalm 31:17 tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yidd^emu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”
Psalm 31:18 tn Heb “the [ones which].”
Psalm 31:18 tn Or “godly.”

Proverbs 21:3

³To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable^[a] to the Lord than sacrifice.^[b]

New English Translation (NET)

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The Daily Audio Bible

The People Confess Their Sins

Those Who Had Taken Foreign Wives

Footnotes

Lawsuits

Flee Sexual Immorality

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes