4 Arise; for this matter belongeth to thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.
5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. And they swore.
6 Then Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he ate no bread, nor drank water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.
7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem;
8 And that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, and the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.
10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken foreign wives to increase the trespass of Israel.