11. Now, confess it to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Do his will and separate yourselves from the people living around you and from your non-Jewish wives.”
12. Then the whole group answered Ezra with a loud voice, “Ezra, you’re right! We must do what you say.
13. But there are many people here, and it’s the rainy season. We can’t stand outside, and this problem can’t be solved in a day or two, because we have sinned badly.
14. Let our officers make a decision for the whole group. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a non-Jewish woman meet with the elders and judges of each town at a planned time, until the hot anger of our God turns away from us.”
15. Only Jonathan son of Asahel, Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, Meshullam, and Shabbethai the Levite were against the plan.
16. So the returned captives did what was suggested. Ezra the priest chose men who were leaders of the family groups and named one from each family division. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to study each case.
17. By the first day of the first month, they had finished with all the men who had married non-Jewish women.
18. These are the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women:From the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and Jeshua’s brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19. (They all promised to divorce their wives, and each one brought a male sheep from the flock as a penalty offering.)
20. From the descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
21. From the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22. From the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23. Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.