12. The whole community answered with a loud voice. They said, "You are right! We must do as you say.
13. But there are a lot of people here. And it's the rainy season. So we can't stand outside. Besides, this matter can't be taken care of in just a day or two. That's because we have sinned terribly by what we've done.
14. "Our officials can act for the whole community. Have everyone in our towns who has married a woman from another land come at a certain time. Tell them to come together with the elders and judges of each town. Then our God will turn his burning anger away from us concerning this whole matter."
15. Only a few men opposed that. They included Jonathan and Jahzeiah. Meshullam and the Levite Shabbethai joined them. Jonathan was the son of Asahel. Jahzeiah was the son of Tikvah.
16. So those who had returned did what had been suggested. The priest Ezra chose some family leaders. There was one from each family group. All of them were chosen by name. They sat down to check out each case. They started on the first day of the tenth month.
17. By the first day of the first month they were finished. They had handled all of the cases of the men who had gotten married to women from other lands.
18. Among the family lines of the priests, here are the men who had married women from other lands. Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah came from the family line of Jeshua and his brothers. Jeshua was the son of Jehozadak.
19. All of them made a firm promise to send their wives away. Each of those men brought a ram from his flock as a guilt offering.