Neville Goddard on Ezra 10:18-44 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ezra 10 in context

Scripture Focus

18And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

19And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.

20And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.

21And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

22And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

23Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

24Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

25Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

26And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.

27And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

28Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

29And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.

30And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

31And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

32Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

33Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

34Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,

36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

37Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

38And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

39And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

41Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

42Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

43Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah.

44All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Ezra 10:18-44

Biblical Context

The passage lists Israelites who took foreign wives, and they vow to separate and make amends, restoring covenant loyalty. It underscores the demand for holiness, purity, and fidelity to the covenant.

Neville's Inner Vision

Ezra 10:18-44 offers a catalogue of inner states masquerading as people. In Neville’s psychology, each name is a facet of the self that has embraced a strange wife—an alien belief, fear, or habit that seems to belong but does not belong to the I AM at the center. The act of giving their hands that they would put away their wives represents a decisive revision of self-identity: a choice to release attachments that violate the covenant of wholeness. The ram of the flock offered for trespass becomes the interior sacrifice of belief, a letting go of guilt-laden patterns and an embracing of purity through conscious alignment with God—the I AM that never leaves, only perceived through shifting states. The enumeration of Levites, singers, and elders illustrates that every department of consciousness—mind, emotion, will, memory, identity—may be reorganized around loyalty to the inner law. Read thus, the text is not a historical reprimand but a mental invitation: you can return to covenant loyalty any time by cleansing your inner house, choosing holiness, and feeling the reality of your oneness with God in this moment.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and assume the feeling I am the I AM, loyal to the covenant of pure being. Then revise one belief that feels foreign to your sense of self by declaring From this moment, I am whole, holy, and free.