Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

When Ezra prayed and confessed before God's house, weeping bitterly, a vast gathering of Israelites assembled around him. Men, women, and children joined in their sorrow.

Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, stood up and said to Ezra, "We have acted unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign wives from the people of the land. Yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing."

Ezra urged them to make a covenant with their God to put away all the foreign wives and children born to them. They vowed to do it in accordance with Ezra's counsel and that of those who reverenced the commandment of their God, following God's law.

The leaders of the community encouraged Ezra, saying, "Arise; this matter belongs to you. We will be with you, and we urge you to act courageously."

Ezra stood before the house of God and gathered all Israel, including the chief priests, Levites, and other men. He urged them to swear an oath to do according to his word.

The people made public announcement throughout Judah and Jerusalem, proclaiming that anyone who refused to come within three days would forfeit their property and be separated from the community of those carried away into exile.

All the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within three days. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, they all met in the street of the house of God, trembling with fear due to the rain and this grave matter.

Ezra stood up and said, "You have acted unfaithfully by marrying foreign women, thereby increasing Israel's guilt before our God."

He called upon them to make confession to the Lord God of their ancestors and do His will by separating themselves from the people of the land and from their foreign wives.

The congregation responded with a loud voice, saying, "As you have said, so must we do." However, they explained that due to the large number of people involved and the torrential rain, it was impossible to complete this work in one or two days. They proposed that their leaders gather representatives from each city to address this issue at appointed times.

Ezra appointed certain leaders, including Jonathan, Jahaziah, Meshullam, Shabbethai, and other officials, to oversee the matter. They began investigating on the first day of the tenth month, dividing the task among themselves according to their families and households.

As they investigated, they found that many priests had taken foreign wives and children. The sons of Jeshua's family – Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah – were among those who confessed their wrongdoing and offered a ram as atonement for their trespasses.

Similarly, the families of Immer, Harim, Pashur, Levites, singers, porters, Israelite clans from Parosh, Elam, Zattu, Bebai, Bani, and others – all had taken foreign wives. In total, more than forty men, along with their children born to these women, were involved.

These individuals promised to put away their foreign wives and offered a ram as an atonement for their transgressions.