厄斯德拉上 9

1And after these things were accomplished, the princes came to me, saying: The people of Israel, and the priests and Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, and from their abominations, namely, of the Chanaanites, and the Hethites, and the Pherezites, and the Jebusites, and the Ammonites, and the Moabites, and the Egyptians, and the Amorrhites.

2For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and they have mingled the holy seed with the people of the lands. And the hand of the princes and magistrates hath been first in this transgression.

3And when I had heard this word, I rent my mantle and my coat, and plucked off the hairs of my head and my beard, and I sat down mourning.

4And there were assembled to me all that feared the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that were come from the captivity, and I sat sorrowful, until the evening sacrifice.

5And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my affliction, and having rent my mantle and my garment, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord my God,

6And said: My God I am confounded and ashamed to lift up my face to thee: for our iniquities are multiplied over our heads, and our sins are grown up even unto heaven,

7From the days of our fathers: and we ourselves also have sinned grievously unto this day, and for our iniquities we and our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the lands, and to the sword, and to captivity, and to spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is at this day.

8And now as a little, and for a moment has our prayer been made before the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant, and give us a pin in his holy place, and that our God would enlighten our eyes, and would give us a little life in our bondage.

9For we are bondmen, and in our bondage our God hath not forsaken us, but hath extended mercy upon us before the king of the Persians, to give us life, and to set up the house of our God, and rebuild the desolations thereof, and to give us a fence in Juda and Jerusalem.

10And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

11Which thou hast commanded by the hand of thy servants the prophets, saying: The land which you go to possess, is an unclean land, according to the uncleanness of the people, and of other lands, with their abominations, who have filled it from mouth to mouth with their filth.

12Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons, and take not their daughters for your sons, and seek not their peace, nor their prosperity forever: that you may be strengthened, and may eat the good things of the land, and may have your children your heirs for ever.

13And after all that is come upon us, for our most wicked deeds, and our great sin, seeing that thou our God hast saved us from our iniquity, and hast given us a deliverance as at this day,

14That we should not turn away, nor break thy commandments, nor join in marriage with the people of these abominations. Art thou angry with us unto utter destruction, not to leave us a remnant to be saved?

15O Lord God of Israel, thou art just: for we remain yet to be saved as at this day. Behold we are before thee in our sin, for there can be no standing before thee in this matter.

1Postquam autem hæc completa sunt, accesserunt ad me principes, dicentes: Non est separatus populus Israël, sacerdotes et Levitæ, a populis terrarum et abominationibus eorum: Chananæi videlicet, et Hethæi, et Pherezæi, et Jebusæi, et Ammonitarum, et Moabitarum, et Ægyptiorum, et Amorrhæorum:

2tulerunt enim de filiabus eorum sibi et filiis suis, et commiscuerunt semen sanctum cum populis terrarum: manus etiam principum et magistratuum fuit in transgressione hac prima.

3Cumque audissem sermonem istum, scidi pallium meum et tunicam, et evelli capillos capitis mei et barbæ, et sedi mœrens.

4Convenerunt autem ad me omnes qui timebant verbum Dei Israël, pro transgressione eorum qui de captivitate venerant, et ego sedebam tristis usque ad sacrificium vespertinum:

5et in sacrificio vespertino, surrexi de afflictione mea, et scisso pallio et tunica, curvavi genua mea, et expandi manus meas ad Dominum Deum meum.

6Et dixi: Deus meus, confundor et erubesco levare faciem meam ad te: quoniam iniquitates nostræ multiplicatæ sunt super caput nostrum, et delicta nostra creverunt usque ad cælum,

7a diebus patrum nostrorum: sed et nos ipsi peccavimus graviter usque ad diem hanc, et in iniquitatibus nostris traditi sumus ipsi, et reges nostri, et sacerdotes nostri, in manum regum terrarum, et in gladium, et in captivitatem, et in rapinam, et in confusionem vultus, sicut et die hac.

8Et nunc quasi parum et ad momentum facta est deprecatio nostra apud Dominum Deum nostrum, ut dimitterentur nobis reliquiæ, et daretur nobis paxillus in loco sancto ejus, et illuminaret oculos nostros Deus noster, et daret nobis vitam modicam in servitute nostra:

9quia servi sumus, et in servitute nostra non dereliquit nos Deus noster, sed inclinavit super nos misericordiam coram rege Persarum, ut daret nobis vitam, et sublimaret domum Dei nostri, et exstrueret solitudines ejus, et daret nobis sepem in Juda et Jerusalem.

10Et nunc quid dicemus, Deus noster, post hæc? Quia dereliquimus mandata tua,

11quæ præcepisti in manu servorum tuorum prophetarum, dicens: Terra, ad quam vos ingredimini ut possideatis eam, terra immunda est juxta immunditiam populorum, ceterarumque terrarum, abominationibus eorum qui repleverunt eam ab ore usque ad os in coinquinatione sua.

12Nunc ergo filias vestras ne detis filiis eorum, et filias eorum ne accipiatis filiis vestris, et non quæratis pacem eorum et prosperitatem eorum usque in æternum: ut confortemini, et comedatis quæ bona sunt terræ, et hæredes habeatis filios vestros usque in sæculum.

13Et post omnia quæ venerunt super nos in operibus nostris pessimis, et in delicto nostro magno, quia tu, Deus noster, liberasti nos de iniquitate nostra, et dedisti nobis salutem sicut est hodie,

14ut non converteremur, et irrita faceremus mandata tua, neque matrimonia jungeremus cum populis abominationum istarum. Numquid iratus es nobis usque ad consummationem, ne dimitteres nobis reliquias ad salutem?

15Domine Deus Israël, justus es tu: quoniam derelicti sumus, qui salvaremur sicut die hac. Ecce coram te sumus in delicto nostro: non enim stari potest coram te super hoc.

1Then, after these things were completed, the leaders came to me, saying: “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not been separated from the peoples of the lands and from their abominations, especially those of the Canaanites, and Hittites, and Perizzites, and Jebusites, and Ammonites, and Moabites, and Egyptians, and Amorites.

2For they have taken from their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and they have mixed a holy lineage with the peoples of the lands. And even the hand of the leaders and the magistrates has been first in this transgression.”

3And when I had heard this word, I tore my cloak and my tunic, and I pulled out the hairs of my head and beard, and I sat in mourning.

4Then all those who feared the word of the God of Israel gathered to me, because of the transgression of those who had arrived from the captivity. And I sat in sorrow, until the evening sacrifice.

5And at the evening sacrifice, I rose up from my affliction, and, having torn my cloak and my tunic, I fell to my knees, and I reached out my hands to the Lord, my God.

6And I said: “My God, I am confounded and ashamed to lift up my face to you. For our iniquities have been multiplied over our heads, and our offenses have increased, even up to heaven,

7from the days of our fathers. But also, we ourselves have sinned gravely, even to this day. And for our iniquities, we ourselves, and our kings and our priests, have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the lands, and to the sword, and to captivity, and to plunder, and to confusion of face, just as it is also in this day.

8And now, to a small extent and for a moment, our petition has been made with the Lord our God, so that they may leave us a remnant, and so that a secure place in his holy land may be given to us, and so that our God may illuminate our eyes, and may give us a little life in our servitude.

9For we are servants, yet in our servitude our God has not forsaken us, but he has inclined mercy upon us in the sight of the king of the Persians, so that he may give us life, and may raise up the house of our God, and repair its desolations, and give us a hedge in Judah and Jerusalem.

10And now, our God, what should we say after these things? For we abandoned your commandments,

11which you instructed by the hand of your servants, the prophets, saying: ‘The land, which you shall enter so that you may possess it, is an unclean land, due to the uncleanness of the peoples and of the other lands, the abominations of those who have filled it, from mouth to mouth, with their filth.’

12Now therefore, you should not give your daughters to their sons, nor should you receive their daughters for your sons. And you should not seek their peace, nor their prosperity, even forever. So shall you be strengthened, and so shall you eat the good things of the land, and have your sons as your heirs, even for all time.

13And after all that has happened to us because of our very wicked works and our great offense, you, our God, have freed us from our iniquity, and you have given us salvation, just as it is this day,

14so that we would not turn away and make your commandments void, and so that we would not unite in marriage with the peoples of these abominations. Could you be angry with us even to the very end, so that you would not leave us a remnant to be saved?

15O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just. For we have been left behind to be saved, just as it is this day. Behold, we are before your sight in our offense. And it is not possible to withstand you in this matter.”