וּכְכַלּוֹת אֵלֶּה נִגְּשׁוּ אֵלַי הַשָּׂרִים לֵאמֹר לֹא־נִבְדְּלוּ הָעָם יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם מֵעַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת   9:1

 כְּתוֹעֲבֹתֵיהֶם לַכְּנַעֲנִי הַחִתִּי הַפְּרִזִּי הַיְבוּסִי הָעַמֹּנִי הַמֹּאָבִי הַמִּצְרִי וְהָאֱמֹרִי׃

Ezra 9:1   And when these things were finished, the princes drew near to me saying, “The people of Israel have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, nor the priests, nor the Levites.  Compare their abominations to the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, the Egyptian, or the Amorite.”

כִּי־נָשְׂאוּ מִבְּנֹתֵיהֶם לָהֶם וְלִבְנֵיהֶם וְהִתְעָרְבוּ זֶרַע הַקֹּדֶשׁ בְּעַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת וְיַד הַשָּׂרִים וְהַסְּגָנִים הָיְתָה   9:2

 בַּמַּעַל הַזֶּה רִאשׁוֹנָה׃

Ezra 9:2   “Indeed they have taken from their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that they have mixed the holy seed with the peoples of the lands.  And the hand of the princes and the governors has been foremost in this trespass.”

וּכְשָׁמְעִי אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה קָרַעְתִּי אֶת־בִּגְדִי וּמְעִילִי וָאֶמְרְטָה מִשְּׂעַר רֹאשִׁי וּזְקָנִי וָאֵשְׁבָה מְשׁוֹמֵם׃   9:3

Ezra 9:3   And at my hearing this thing, I tore my garment and my robe and plucked some of the hair of my head and my beard and sat down appalled.

וְאֵלַי יֵאָסְפוּ כֹּל חָרֵד בְּדִבְרֵי אֱלֹהֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל מַעַל הַגּוֹלָה וַאֲנִי יֹשֵׁב מְשׁוֹמֵם עַד לְמִנְחַת הָעָרֶב׃   9:4

Ezra 9:4   And they could gather to me, everyone trembling because of the words of the God of Israel about the faithlessness of the exiles, as I was sitting appalled up to the evening offering.

וּבְמִנְחַת הָעֶרֶב קַמְתִּי מִתַּעֲנִיתִי וּבְקָרְעִי בִגְדִי וּמְעִילִי וָאֶכְרְעָה עַל־בִּרְכַּי וָאֶפְרְשָׂה כַפַּי אֶל־יְהוָה   9:5

 אֱלֹהָי׃

Ezra 9:5   And at the evening offering I arose from my fasting and my rending my garment and my robe, and I knelt on my knees and spread my hands to the Lord, my God,

וָאֹמְרָה אֱלֹהַי בֹּשְׁתִּי וְנִכְלַמְתִּי לְהָרִים אֱלֹהַי פָּנַי אֵלֶיךָ כִּי עֲוֺנֹתֵינוּ רָבוּ לְמַעְלָה רֹּאשׁ וְאַשְׁמָתֵנוּ גָדְלָה   9:6

 עַד לַשָּׁמָיִם׃

Ezra 9:6   and said, “My God! I am ashamed, and I would be too humiliated to lift up my face to You, O my God, except our iniquities are so many as to be over the head and our great guilt is up to heaven.”

In this chapter we have another unacknowledged error similar to those in Chapter 8.  Here the first word, translated as and [I] said, should, according to me, be written as וָאֲנֵי אָמַרְחִּי:..

מִימֵי אֲבֹתֵינוּ אֲנַחְנוּ בְּאַשְׁמָה גְדֹלָה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וּבַעֲוֺנֹתֵינוּ נִתַּנּוּ אֲנַחְנוּ מְלָכֵינוּ כֹהֲנֵינוּ בְּיַד מַלְכֵי   9:7

הָאֲרָצוֹת בַּחֶרֶב בַּשְּׁבִי וּבַבִּזָּה וּבְבֹשֶׁת פָּנִים כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃

Ezra 9:7   “Since the days of our fathers we have been with great guilt up to this day, and because of our iniquities we have been put upon, our kings, our priests, by the hand of the kings of the lands, by the sword, by captivity, and by spoiling, and by shame of face as this day.”

וְעַתָּה כִּמְעַט־רֶגַע הָיְתָה תְחִנָּה מֵאֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְהַשְׁאִיר לָנוּ פְּלֵיטָה וְלָתֶת־לָנוּ יָתֵד בִּמְקוֹםֹ   9:8

קָדְשׁוֹ לְהָאִיר עֵינֵינוּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וּלְתִתֵּנוּ מִחְיָה מְעַט בְּעַבְדֻתֵנוּ׃

Ezra 9:8   “Yet now for a fleeting moment favor has appeared from the Lord, our God, to spare for us an escaped remnant and to give us a stake in His holy place, our God brightening our eyes and giving us a little reviving in our bondage.”

כִּי־עֲבָדִים אֲנַחְנוּ וּבְעַבְדֻתֵנוּ לֹא עֲזָבָנוּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַיַּט־עָלֵינוּ חֶסֶד לִפְנֵי מַלְכֵי פָרַס לָתֶת־לָנוּ מִחְיָה   9:9

 לְרֹוםֵם אֶת־בֵּית אֱלֹהֵינוּ וּלְהַעֲמִיד אֶת־חָרְבֹתָיו וְלָתֶת־לָנוּ גָדֵר בִּיהוּדָה וּבִירוּשָׁלִָם׃

Ezra 9:9   Though we are bondsmen, yet in our bondage our God has not forsaken us, and has spread over us mercy before the kings of Persia, to give a reviving to us to raise up the house of our God and to repair its ruins and to set a fence for us in Judah and in Jerusalem.”

וְעַתָּה מַה־נֹּאמַר אֱלֹהֵינוּ אַחֲרֵי־זֹאת כִּי עָזַבְנוּ מִצְוֺתֶיךָ׃   9:10

Ezra 9:10   “So now, our God, what can we say after this, since we have abandoned Your commandments

אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָ בְּיַד עֲבָדֶיךָ הַנְּבִיאִים לֵאמֹר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם בָּאִים לְרִשְׁתָּהּ אֶרֶץ נִדָּה הִיא בְּנִדַּת עַמֵּי   9:11

הָאֲרָצוֹת בְּתוֹעֲבֹתֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר מִלְאוּהָ מִפֶּה אֶל־פֶּה בְּטֻמְאָתָם׃

Ezra 9:11   that You have commanded by the hand of Your servants, the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you will be entering to possess it, an impure land it is because of the impurity of the peoples of the territories through their abominations with which they have filled it from end to end by their uncleanness.’”

וְעַתָּה בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם אַל־תִּתְּנוּ לִבְנֵיהֶם וּבְנֹתֵיהֶם אַל־תִּשְׂאוּ לִבְנֵיכֶם וְלֹא־תִדְרְשׁוּ שְׁלֹמָם וְטוֹבָתָם   9:12

 עַד־עוֹלָם לְמַעַן תֶּחֶזְקוּ וַאֲכַלְתֶּם אֶת־טוּב הָאָרֶץ וְהוֹרַשְׁתֶּם לִבְנֵיכֶם עַד־עוֹלָם׃

Ezra 9:12   “So now you must not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, and you shall not seek their peace or their agreement forever, so that you can be strong and eat the good of the land and pass it on to your children forever.”

וְאַחֲרֵי כָּל־הַבָּא עָלֵינוּ בְּמַעֲשֵׂינוּ הָרָעִים וּבְאַשְׁמָתֵנוּ הַגְּדֹלָה כִּי אַתָּה אֱלֹהֵינוּ חָשַׂכְתָּ לְמַטָּה מֵעֲוֺנֵנוּ   9:13

וְנָתַתָּה לָּנוּ פְּלֵיטָה כָּזֹאת׃

Ezra 9:13   “Yet after everything that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and because of our great offense, still, You our God, restrain Yourself to lower than our iniquities that You would give us a preserved remnant such as this

הֲנָשׁוּב לְהָפֵר מִצְוֺתֶיךָ וּלְהִתְחַתֵּן בְּעַמֵּי הַתֹּעֵבוֹת הָאֵלֶּה הֲלוֹא תֶאֱנַף־בָּנוּ עַד־כַּלֵּה לְאֵין שְׁאֵרִית   9:14

 וּפְלֵיטָה׃

Ezra 9:14   that we could return to violating Your commandments and to marry into the peoples of these abominations.  Would You not be so ‘angry’ with us to consuming, there to be no remnant or escaped?”

יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל צַדִּיק אַתָּה כִּי־נִשְׁאַרְנוּ פְלֵיטָה כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה הִנְנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ בְּאַשְׁמָתֵינוּ כִּי אֵין   9:15

 לַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶיךָ עַל־זֹאת׃

Ezra 9:15   “Lord, God of Israel, righteous are You!  Because we have survived, an escaped remnant, as of this day, behold, we are before You with our offenses, though none should be standing before You because of that.”

 

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Ezra 9