Ezra 10:6–17

6 Ezra then went from the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night.* He did not eat food or drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.aj

7 They circulated a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem. 8 Whoever did not come within three days would forfeit all his possessions,B according to the decision of the leaders and elders, and would be excludeda from the assembly of the exiles.

9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God,b trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. 10 Then the priest Ezra stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt.c 11 Therefore, make a confession to the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and your foreign wives.”

12 Then all the assembly responded loudly, “Yes, we will do as you say! 13 But there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We don’t have the stamina to stay out in the open. This isn’t something that can be done in a day or two, for we have rebelled terribly in this matter. 14 Let our leaders represent the entire assembly. Then let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each town, in order to avert the fierce anger of our Godd concerningC this matter.” 15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullame and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.

16 The exiles did what had been proposed. The priest Ezra selected men* who were family heads, all identified by name, to representE their ancestral families.F They convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter, 17 and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.