3. let us strike a pact with the Lord our God, so that we may cast aside all the wives, and those who have been born from them, in accord with the will of the Lord, and of those who fear the precept of the Lord our God. So let it be done, according to the law.
4. Rise up. It is for you to discern, and we shall be with you. Be strengthened and act."
5. Therefore, Ezra rose up, and he caused the leaders of the priests and the Levites, and all of Israel, to swear that they would act in accord with this word. And they swore it.
6. And Ezra rose up before the house of God, and he went away to the chamber of Jehohanan, the son of Eliashib, and he entered into it. He did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. For he was mourning the transgression of those who had arrived from the captivity.
7. And a voice was sent into Judah and Jerusalem, to all the sons of the transmigration, so that they would gather together in Jerusalem.
8. And all those who would not arrive within three days, in accord with the counsel of the leaders and the elders, would have all his substance taken away, and he would be cast out of the assembly of the transmigration.
9. And so, all the men of Judah and of Benjamin convened in Jerusalem within three days. This was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of the sin and the rain.
10. And Ezra, the priest, rose up, and he said to them: "You have transgressed, and you have taken foreign wives, so that you added to the offenses of Israel.
11. And now, make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do what pleases him, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from your foreign wives."
12. And the entire multitude responded, and they said with a great voice: "In accord with your word to us, so let be it done.
13. Yet truly, since the people are many, and it is the time of rain, and we cannot endure standing outside, and this is not a task for one or two days, (for certainly we have sinned greatly in this matter,)