Ezra 10:6-14

⁶ Then Ezra rose from before e the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib . Although he went there , he did not eat bread nor drink water , for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles . ⁷ They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles e , that they should assemble at Jerusalem , ⁸ and that whoever e would not come within three days , according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders , all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles . ⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days . It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month , and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God , trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain . ¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel . ¹¹ "Now therefore, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will ; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives ." ¹² Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice , "That's right ! As you have said , so it is our duty to do . ¹³ "But there are many people ; it is the rainy season and we are not able to stand in the open . Nor can the task be done in one or two days , for we have transgressed greatly in this matter . ¹⁴ "Let our leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at appointed times , together with the elders and judges of each city , until the fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us."