9:1 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me,
saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites,
have not separated themselves from the people of the lands,
[doing] according to their abominations, [even] of the
Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the
Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
9:2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and
for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves
with the people of [those] lands: yea, the hand of the princes
and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
9:3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my
mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard,
and sat down confounded.
9:4 Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the
words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of
those that had been carried away; and I sat confounded until
the evening sacrifice.
9:5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose from my heaviness; and
having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and
spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
9:6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my
face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over
[our] head, and our trespass is grown up to the heavens.
9:7 Since the days of our fathers [have] we [been] in a great
trespass to this day; and for our iniquities have we, our
kings, [and] our priests, been delivered into the hand of the
kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil,
and to confusion of face, as [it is] this day.
9:8 And now for a little space grace hath been [shown] from the
LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a
nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and
give us a little reviving in our bondage.
9:9 For we [were] bond-men; yet our God hath not forsaken us in
our bondage, but hath extended mercy to us in the sight of the
kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of
our God, and to repair the desolations of it, and to give us a
wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we
have forsaken thy commandments,
9:11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets,
saying, The land, to which ye go to possess it, is an unclean
land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their
abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with
their uncleanness.
9:12 Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons,
neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace
or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the
good of the land, and leave [it] for an inheritance to your
children for ever.
9:13 And after all that hath come upon us for our evil deeds,
and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast
punished us less than our iniquities [deserve], and hast given
us [such] deliverance as this;
9:14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in
affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldst thou
not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed [us], so that
[there should be] no remnant nor escaping?
9:15 O LORD God of Israel, thou [art] righteous: for we having
escaped, remain yet, as [it is] this day: behold, we [are]
before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee
because of this.
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