¹² Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or let their daughters marry your sons. Nor must you seek peace with them or enhance their prosperity. In this way you will grow strong, enjoy the produce of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’

¹³ “After all that has befallen us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, you, O Lord, have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have allowed us to survive. ¹⁴ Shall we once again disobey your commandments and intermarry with people who engage in these loathsome practices? Would you not be enraged with us to the point that you would destroy us, leaving us with neither remnant nor survivor?