Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

Now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes ¹  of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. ²  Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah,

Now Ezra had dedicated himself ¹  to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching ²  its statutes and judgments in Israel.

What follows ¹  is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. ²  Ezra was ³  a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan. ¹  And they all took a solemn oath.

Then 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.

So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.)

Ezra opened the book in plain view ¹  of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, ²  all the people stood up.

Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

On the second day of the month the family leaders ¹  met with ²  Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law.

These are the priests and Levites who returned ¹  with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

These all served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priestly scribe. ¹ 

and his colleagues – Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani – with musical instruments of ¹  David the man of God. (Ezra the scribe led them.) ² 

This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

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. ¹ 

Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, ¹  addressed Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying ²  foreign women from the local peoples. ³  Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard. ⁴ 

Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed ¹  there, he did not eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles.

So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out ¹  by name men who were leaders in their family groups. ²  They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,

all the people gathered together ¹  in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked ²  Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel.