Ezra:10:1-17

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* And while was praying and making his confession , weeping and casting himself down before the house of God , a very great congregation of men and women and children gathered to him out of Israel . For the people wept with a great weeping . * And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel , of the sons of Elam , answered and said to Ezra , We have sinned against our God , and have dwelt with foreign women from the peoples of the land . Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing . * And now let us cut a covenant with our God to put away all the women , and those born of them , according to the counsel of the Lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God . And let it be done according to the law . * Rise up , for the matter is on you . We also will be with you . Be strong and act . * Then rose up and made the chief priests , the Levites , and all Israel to swear that they would do according to this word . And they swore . * Then rose up from before the house of God and went into the room of Johanan the son of Eliashib . And he went there , and he did not eat food , nor did he drink , for he mourned for the perfidy of the exiles . * And they passed a call throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the sons of the exile , to assemble at Jerusalem ; * and that whoever would not come within three days according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders , all his property would be forfeited , and he would be excluded from the congregation of the exiles . * Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered to Jerusalem within three days . It was the ninth month , on the twentieth of the month . And all the people sat in the plaza of the house of God , trembling because of the matter , and because of the heavy rain . * And the priest stood up and said to them , You have trespassed and have dwelt with foreign women , to increase the guilt of Israel . * And now make confession to Jehovah God of your fathers and do His will . And separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women . * Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice Right ! According to your word it is on us to do . * But the people are many , and it is a time of heavy rain . And we are not able to stand outside . And the work is not of one or two days . For we have greatly sinned in this thing . * Please let our rulers for all the congregation stand , and let all those who have dwelt with foreign women in our cities come at a set time , and with them the elders of every city , and its judges , until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter has turned from us . * Only Jonathan the son of Asahel , and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah made a stand against this . And Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them . * And the sons of the exile did so . And the priest with men , heads of the fathers , according to the house of their fathers , and all of them by names , were separated . And they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter . * And they finished with all the men who had dwelt with foreign women by the first day of the first month .

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