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these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the neighbouring peoples, whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy race has become mixed with the peoples of those lands; indeed the leaders and officials have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.”
3 When I heard this, I tore my tunic and my robe, pulled some of the hair off my head and my beard, and sat down devastated. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, gathered around me while I sat devastated until the evening sacrifice.
5 Then, at the evening sacrifice, I got up from my humiliation, with my tunic and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 and I prayed:
“O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has reached up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our forefathers we have been in terrible guilt to this day. Because of our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of foreign kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame, as it is this day.
8 “But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the Lord our God in leaving us a remnant, and giving us a stake in His holy place, in order that our God may brighten our eyes, and grant us a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our bondage. He has extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia and given us new life, so we are able to rebuild the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “Now, O our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11 You gave through Your servants the prophets when You said: ‘The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the filthiness of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons, and do not seek their peace or their prosperity at any time. Then you will be strong and eat the good things of the land, and leave the land to your children as an inheritance forever’.
13 “All that has happened to us is the result of our evil deeds and our terrible guilt, yet You, our God, have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this. 14 Shall we then again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t You be angry with us until You had consumed us, so there would be no remnant or survivors? 15 O Lord, God of Israel, You are righteous! We have survived as a mere remnant this day. Here we are before You in our guilt, though not one of us can we cannot stand before You because of this.”