Esrab ǀgores, ǁaes di ǁoren ǃaroma
1 Nē xūn hoan ge dītoahes khaoǃgâ gu ge ǀnî ǂgaeǂgui-aogu Israelǁîn diga hā ge mîba te, Israeli khoen, pristergu tsî Leviǁîgu tsîn ǀgūse ǁgoe ǃhūgu khoen, Kanaanǁîn, Hetǁîn, Perisǁîn, Jebusǁîn, Amonǁîn, Moabǁîn, Egipteǁîn tsî Amorǁîn tsîna xu ge ūdabasen tama, tsî ǁnā khoen ra dī ui-uisa xūn ǁkhāna ra dī ǃkhaisa. 2 Jodeǁîgu ge ǃhao tarade ra ǃgame tsîs ge ǁnās ǀkha Elob di ǃanu ǁaesa ra ǀuriǀurihe. ǂGaeǂgui-aogu tsî ǂamkhoegu tsîgu ge nē ǃûǂams ǃnâ ǂgurose mâ. 3 Nē ǃkhaisa ta ge ǁnâu, o ta ge ti sarana ǀkhau, ti ǀûn tsî ǀhō-ammi tsîna tsuruǂui tsî tsûaǂgaob xa ǂkhabu hâse ge ǂnû. 4 Tsî ta ge ǁnāpa ǃoab xa ǃuiǁguibas ǁaeb kōse ge ǂnôa i. O gu ge Israeli di Elob ge ǃkhōsisa xu ge oaǀkhī khoen di ǁoreb ǂama mî mîdi xa ǃaoǃaohe hâgu hoaga ti ǂnamipe ge ǀhao.
5 ǃUiǁguibas ǁaeb ai ta ge ǃoab ǃnâ ta ge ǂnôa ipa xu khâimâ tsî ti ǀkhausa sarana ta noxopa ana hâse, ǃhonǁgoa tsî ti ǃomkha ǃKhūb, ti Elob ǃoa ūkhâi 6 tsî ge ǀgore: “Ti Elotse, taob xa ta ge sa ǃoas tsîna kōkhâi ǁoa. Sida ǁoren ge sida danade ra īǂam; ǁîn ge ǀhommi kōse a ǀgapi. 7 Sida aboxan di tsēde xu nēsis kōseb ge sa khoeda di ǁoreba kaise a kai. Sida ǁoreba xus ge sida, sida gao-aogu tsî sida pristergu tsîn ge ǀkhara gao-aogu ǃomǁae ǁnāsa, tsî da ge ǃgamhe, sida xūna ǁkhâuǁnâ-aihe tsî ǃkhōsabese gere ǃgû-ūhe. Tsî da ge nētsēs ǁga hoaragase ge taotaohe. 8 Nēsi da ge ǃnubu ǁaero-e, ǃKhū sida Elotse sats xa go ǀkhomxahe, tsî da ge ǀnî khoeda ǃkhōsisa xu ûiǂoa tsî ǃnorasase nē ǃanu ǃkhais ǃnâ go ǁan. Sats ge sida khobosisa xu ǃnoraǃnora tsî ǀasa ûiba go mā. 9 Sida ge ge khobo i, xawets ge khobosis ǃnâ ǁnāxū da tama ge i. Sats ge Persiab gao-aoba sida ǃoa ge ǃgâi kai, tsîb ge ǁîba ge mā-am da, ûi tsî da sa Tempeli, khôaǂkhūhe ge hâ iba omkhâi tsî ǃnorasasiba Judab tsî Jerusalems ǃnâ nî ūhâsa.
10 “Xawe sida Elotse, tare-e da nēsi nēn khaoǃgâ a mî ǁkhā? Sida ge sa mîmādi, 11 sa ǃgāgu, kēbo-aogu ǃnâ-uts ge mā dade ge ǃûǂam. ǁÎgu ge ge mîba da, ǁnā ǃhūb hîa da nî ūbasenni a ǀurixa ǃhūsa, ǁîb ǃnâ ge ǁan hâ i khoen ge ǁîn di ui-uisa dīgu ǀkha, ǁîba ǀgui ǀkhāba xu nau ǀkhāb kōse ǀuriǀuri xui-ao. 12 ǁÎgu ge ge mîba da ǁîn ǀkha da ǃgameǃnâgu tide tsî da ǁîna, ǃgâiǃgâxa ûiban nî ūhâs ǃoa hui tidesa, nē ǃhūb di ǃgâiba da ga ǀama ǂgao tsî ǁîba sida ôana mā ǂgao-o, ǀamoseb ǁîn dise nî hâse. 13 Sida ǀkha ge sida tsūdīgu tsî ǃûǂamdi ǃaroma ī xūn hoan khaoǃgâ da ge a ǂan, sats sida Elots ge ǃoaǂui da hâs xa ǀorose ǁkhara da, tsîts ge ǀnîda ûiǃgau kai ǃkhaisa. 14 Mâti da kha ǁnâi ǁkhawa sa mîmāde ǃûǂam tsî nē ui-uisa xūna ra dī ǃhaodi ǀkha nî ǃgameǃnâgu? ǁNāti da ga dī, ots ge sida ǀkha ǁaixa tsî hoaragase nî hîkākā da tsî i ge ǀgui khoe-i tsîna ûiǃgau tide. 15 ǃKhū, Israeli Elotse, sats ge a ǂhanu-ai tsîts ge ge ûiǃgau kai da. Sida ǃûǂamde da ge sats ai ra ǁguiǁnâ; sa aiǃâ mâs tsîna da ge anu tama hâ.”
Ezra Learns of Intermarriages with Non-Jews
1 After all this had been done, some of the leaders of the people of Israel came and told me that the people, the priests, and the Levites had not kept themselves separate from the people in the neighboring countries of Ammon, Moab, and Egypt or from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Amorites. They were doing the same disgusting things which these people did. 2 Jewish men were marrying foreign women, and so God's holy people had become contaminated. The leaders and officials were the chief offenders. 3 When I heard this, I tore my clothes in despair, tore my hair and my beard, and sat down crushed with grief. 4 I sat there grieving until the time for the evening sacrifice to be offered, and people began to gather around me—all those who were frightened because of what the God of Israel had said about the sins of those who had returned from exile.
5 When the time came for the evening sacrifice, I got up from where I had been grieving, and still wearing my torn clothes, I knelt in prayer and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God. 6 I said, “O God, I am too ashamed to raise my head in your presence. Our sins pile up higher than our heads; they reach as high as the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until now, we, your people, have sinned greatly. Because of our sins we, our kings, and our priests have fallen into the hands of foreign kings, and we have been slaughtered, robbed, and carried away as prisoners. We have been totally disgraced, as we still are today. 8 Now for a short time, O Lord our God, you have been gracious to us and have let some of us escape from slavery and live in safety in this holy place. You have let us escape from slavery and have given us new life. 9 We were slaves, but you did not leave us in slavery. You made the emperors of Persia favor us and permit us to go on living and to rebuild your Temple, which was in ruins, and to find safety here in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “But now, O God, what can we say after all that has happened? We have again disobeyed the commands 11 that you gave us through your servants, the prophets. They told us that the land we were going to occupy was an impure land because the people who lived in it filled it from one end to the other with disgusting, filthy actions. 12 They told us that we were never to intermarry with those people and never to help them prosper or succeed if we wanted to enjoy the land and pass it on to our descendants forever. 13 Even after everything that has happened to us in punishment for our sins and wrongs, we know that you, our God, have punished us less than we deserve and have allowed us to survive. 14 Then how can we ignore your commandments again and intermarry with these wicked people? If we do, you will be so angry that you will destroy us completely and let no one survive. 15 Lord God of Israel, you are just, but you have let us survive. We confess our guilt to you; we have no right to come into your presence.”
