¹⁶ And when you choose some of their daughters as wives^(A) for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods,^(B) they will lead your sons to do the same.

³ Do not intermarry with them.^(A) Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

⁴ for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,^(A) and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy^(B) you.

Ezra’s Prayer About Intermarriage

9 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate^(A) from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites,^(B) Ammonites,^(C) Moabites,^(D) Egyptians and Amorites.^(E)

² They have taken some of their daughters^(A) as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled^(B) the holy race^(C) with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”^(D)

Nehemiah’s Prayer

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

In the month of Kislev^(A) in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,^{(B) 2} Hanani,^(C) one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant^(D) that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

³ They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.^(E)”

⁴ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.^(F) For some days I mourned and fasted^(G) and prayed before the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said:

I was cupbearer^(U) to the king.