3 A message was sent throughout Jerusalem and Judah, calling all those who had returned from exile to meet in Jerusalem,
4 by order of the leaders of the people. If anyone failed to come within two or three days, his cattle would be confiscated, and he would lose his right to be a member of the community.
5 Within the three days, on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin came to Jerusalem
6 and assembled in the Temple square. Everyone was shivering with the cold because it was wintertime.
7 Then Ezra stood up and spoke to them, “You have broken the Law and brought guilt on Israel by marrying foreign women.
8 Now then, tell the truth and confess your sins to the Lord, the God of our ancestors,
9 and do what he requires. Separate yourselves from the foreigners living in our land and get rid of your foreign wives.”