1 While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites — men, women, and children — gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.

2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel. 3So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. 4Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we will support you. Be strong and take action!”

5 So Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said. And they took the oath.

6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. And while he stayed there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

7 And a proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem. 8Whoever failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.

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

10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel. 11Now, therefore, make a confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”

12 And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say! 13But there are many people here, and it is the rainy season. We are not able to stay out in the open. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. 14Let our leaders represent the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.”

15(Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this plan.)

16 So the exiles did as proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, each of them identified by name, to represent their families. On the first day of the tenth month they launched the investigation, 17and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.

18 Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers:

20 From the descendants of Immer:

21 From the descendants of Harim:

22 From the descendants of Pashhur:

23 Among the Levites:

24 From the singers:

From the gatekeepers:

25 And among the other Israelites, from the descendants of Parosh:

26 From the descendants of Elam:

27 From the descendants of Zattu:

28 From the descendants of Bebai:

29 From the descendants of Bani:

30 From the descendants of Pahath-moab:

31 From the descendants of Harim:

33 From the descendants of Hashum:

34 From the descendants of Bani:

38 From the descendants of Binnui:

43 And from the descendants of Nebo:

44 All these men had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.

1 If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints! 2Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

4 So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church? 5I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers? 6Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers!

7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers!

9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

12“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything. 13“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also.

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.

18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.