Study Desk

of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and two hundred males with him;

of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and three hundred males with him;

and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and fifty males with him;

and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and seventy males with him;

and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and eighty males with him;

of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him;

and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him;

and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and twenty-eight males with him;

and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him;

and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and sixty males with them;

and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and seventy males with them.

and Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men;

Then I selected twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers;

And on the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.

"For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy line has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the officials and the leaders have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness."

But at the evening offering I stood up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God;

which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end, and with their impurity.

shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there would be no remnant nor any who would escape?

"So now let's make a covenant with our God to send away all the wives and their children, following the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the Law.

"Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act."