After this was done, the leaders came to me and said, The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. They have yet to follow the people of these nations and do abominable things.

Because they married these foreign women for themselves and their sons, so that the holy kind mixed with the people of these nations. And the leader and officials are the culprits in this matter.

As soon as I heard this, I tore my clothes and robe, pulled out my hair and beard, and sat down in fear and sorrow.

All who tremble at the words of the God of Israel are gathered to me because of the sins committed by those who have returned from captivity. I sat in fear and sorrow until the evening sacrifice.

When I stood up at the evening sacrifice, my heart was filled with sorrow. Wearing a torn robe, I knelt down on my knees and raised my hand to the Lord my God,

Say, O my God, I am ashamed and ashamed, I dare not look up to my God. Because our sins are extinguished, our sins are heinous.

From our ancestors until today, our sins have been severe. Because of our sins, we, along with kings and priests, have been handed over to the hands of foreign kings for killing, plundering, and plundering, with shame on our faces as it is today.

Now the Lord our God has temporarily shown us grace, leaving us some who have escaped, so that we may be secure like nails nailed to his sanctuary. Our God will shine upon our eyes, so that we may be slightly revived in our dominion.

We are slaves, yet our God has not abandoned us amidst his rule. He has shown kindness to us in the sight of the king of Persia, to revive us, to rebuild the temple of our God, to repair its ruins, and to have walls in Judah and Jerusalem.

What else can we say, O our God, even so? Because we have abandoned your orders,

As you commanded through your servants the prophets, ‘The land you are going to possess is an unclean land.’. Because of the filth and detestable things of the peoples of the nations, the whole earth is filled with filth from one end to the other.

Therefore, do not marry your daughters to their sons, nor do you marry their daughters for your sons. You must never seek their peace or their interests, so that you can become strong, eat the good things of this land, and leave it as an inheritance for your descendants forever.

God, we have encountered all these things because of our evil deeds and great sins, and you have punished us less than what we deserve for our sins, leaving us with these people.

How can we once again disobey your commands and form bonds with the people who have committed this detestable act? If you do this, will you not be angry with us and destroy us, so that there is no one left to escape?

O Lord, the God of Israel, because you are righteous, only the remaining of us will escape, just as it is today. See, we have sin before you, and therefore no one can stand before you.