10 When Ezra prayed and confessed like that, weeping and bowing down low in front of the temple, an extremely large number of Israeli men and women and children gathered around him to join in and weep aloud. 2 Then Yehiel’s son Shekanyah (from the sons of Eylam) answered and admitted to Ezra, “We ourselves have behaved unfaithfully towards our God and have married foreign women from the other people groups in this region. But there’s still hope for Israel concerning this. 3 So now, let’s make an agreement with our God to send all those women back, along with their children, following the advice of my master and the ones who strive to obey God’s instructions, and as per the law. 4 So take action because this is now in your hands, but we’re with you. Lead strongly and make a clear decision.”

5 So Ezra took action and made the leaders of the priests and Levites, and all Israel, to promise to implement this decision, and they did so. 6 Then Ezra left that place there in front of the temple, and he went to Yehohanan’s room (Elyashiv’s son) and went in. He didn’t eat or drink, but continued mourning because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

7 Then the leaders sent a proclamation throughout Yerushalem and all Yehudah to all those Jews who’d returned from captivity, that their men should assemble in Yerushalem. 8 They were told that it was the decision of the leaders and elders that anyone who didn’t arrive within three days would then forfeit all their property and would no longer be considered as an Israeli. 9 So on the third day (in mid-December), all the men of Yehudah and Benyamin gathered in Yerushalem, and all the people sat in the courtyard in front of the temple. They were shivering because of the rain, and because of the seriousness of the matter.

10 Then the priest Ezra stood up and announced, “You yourselves have acted unfaithfully and have married foreign women, thus adding to Israel’s guilt in God’s eyes. 11 Now however, praise Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, and do what he’s commanded us and separate yourselves from the other religions of the peoples in this region, including not marrying their women.”

12 Then all the gathered Israelis answered, “Yes, we do need to do what you’ve said. 13 However, it’s the rainy season now, and there’s so many people who can’t stand outside for several days while we try to work all this out, because we’ve done so much wrong. 14 So let’s delegate our leaders to make the decisions for all of us. Then we can arrange to meet together by city with our elders and judges to apply the decisions about our foreign wives, until God’s anger towards us about these matters cools down. 15 The only ones who were against this plan were Asahel’s on Yonatan and Tikvah’s son Yahzeyah, with the support of Meshullam and the Levite Shabetai.

16 So the exiled Israelis agreed to follow that plan, and the names of the men were written down by each clan leader who then stayed behind with the priest Ezra, and a few days later, they sat down to start working through the lists. 17 Some two months later, they had finished considering all the men who had married foreign women.