Public Repentance and the Proposal to Send Away Foreign Wives
Ezra 10:1-17
1While Ezra was praying and confessing, he wept and fell on his face before the house of God. A very great assembly from Israel gathered to him—men, women, and children—for the people wept bitterly.2Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God and have settled foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in this matter."3Therefore let us now make a covenant with our God to send away all the women and the children born from them, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the instruction.4Arise, for this matter rests upon you, and we are with you; be strong and act.5Ezra arose and required the rulers of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear that they would act according to this word, and they swore.6Ezra rose from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Johanan son of Eliashib. He remained there without eating food or drinking water, because he mourned over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.7They issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles that they should assemble in Jerusalem.8Anyone who did not come within three days according to the counsel of the rulers and the elders would have all his property devoted to destruction, and he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.9All the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. All the people sat in the open area before the house of God, trembling because of the word and because of the rain.10Ezra the priest stood and said to them, "You have acted unfaithfully by settling foreign women among us and have thereby increased the guilt of Israel."11Now therefore give thanks to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do what pleases him; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women.12Then the whole assembly answered with a loud voice, "It is so; according to your word we are obligated to do this."13Yet the people are numerous, the season is rainy, and we lack strength to remain outside; moreover, the task cannot be completed in one or two days, because we have greatly transgressed in this matter.14Let our rulers represent the entire assembly, and let everyone in our cities who has married foreign women appear at the appointed times together with the elders and judges of each city, until the burning anger of our God concerning this matter has turned away from us.15Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah supported this proposal, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite assisted them.16The exiles carried out the decision. Ezra the priest selected men who were heads of fathers' houses, listing them all by name according to their ancestral houses, and they convened on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.17They completed the examination of all the men who had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.