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.”
10 The people shouted in reply, “We will do whatever you say.”