1. While Ezra was praying, confessing ⌊these sins⌋, crying, and throwing himself down in front of God’s temple, a large crowd of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. They also began to cry bitterly.
2. Then Shecaniah, son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, interrupted by saying to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women who came from the people around us. However, there is still hope for Israel.
3. So we must now make a promise to our God to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them, as my lord ⌊Ezra⌋ and the others who tremble at the commandments of our God have advised us to do. We must do what Moses’ Teachings tell us.
4. Get up! It’s your duty to take action. We are with you, so be strong and take action.”
5. Then Ezra got up and made the leaders, priests, Levites, and all the rest of Israel swear to do what they had said. So they took an oath.
6. Then Ezra left the front of God’s temple and went to the room of Jehohanan, son of Eliashib. Ezra didn’t eat any food or drink any water while he was there. He was mourning because these former exiles had been so unfaithful.
7. Then he sent a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the former exiles must gather in Jerusalem.
8. If any of them didn’t come within three days as the leaders and the older men had advised, then they would lose all their property and be excluded from the community of former exiles.
9. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered within three days in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the courtyard of God’s temple. They were trembling because of this matter and shivering because of the heavy rain.
10. Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, and now you have added to Israel’s guilt.