Day 271: Israel's Foreign Wives (2026)

Fr. Mike Schmitz (0:01)

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Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to The Bible in a Year Podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a Year Podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using The Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 271 We're reading from Ezra, The End of Ezra, the last two chapters, although as we know that Ezra and Nehemiah are the same book. It's all one, but in our Bibles, they're two different books. We're reading Ezra chapter nine and 10, also Zechariah chapter 9, 10 and 11 We're getting kind of close to the end of the book of the Prophet Zechariah, as well as Proverbs chapter 20 verses 16 through 19 As always, the Bible translation that I'm reading from is the revised standard version of the second Catholic edition. I'm using The Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plans, you can follow along and keep track of every day. Like today, you can visit ascensionpress.com/bible in a Year and you would know, wow, it's day 271 This is the last day of the book of Ezra and we're only reading chapters 9 and 10, that kind of a thing. Also, you can subscribe to this podcast. I don't know if you knew this. It's a well kept secret, a little known fact. You can subscribe to this podcast and then what happens is, every single day, you get daily episodes and updates. It's phenomenal. I can't say enough good things about it, but if you're interested, you can click on subscribe. It is day 271 We're reading Ezra 9 and 10, Zechariah 9, 10 and 11, as well as Proverbs 20 verses 16 through 19

The Book of Ezra, Chapter 9, Denunciation of Intermarriage, Ezra's Prayer.

After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, The sons of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness, the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.

When I heard this, I tore my garments and my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered round me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. And at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my fasting with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, saying, Oh my God, I am ashamed, and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings and our priests, have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame as at this day. But now, for a brief moment, favor has been shown by the Lord our God to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within His holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage, for we are bondmen.