Ezra 10:14

14 Let our leaders represent the whole community; and let all those in our cities who have married foreign women appear at prearranged times, accompanied by the elders and judges of each city; until our God's fierce anger over this has been turned away from us."

Ezra 10:14 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 10:14

Let now our rulers of all the congregations stand
Let the great sanhedrim, or court of judicature at Jerusalem, be fixed and continued, and others:

and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at
appointed times;
to the court at Jerusalem, at certain and fixed known times of their sittings there for this purpose:

and with the elders of every city and the judges thereof;
the principal magistrates of it, who were to testify that upon search and inquiry those were the men and all the men in their city, that had taken strange wives, and that they had put them away according to the order of the princes and elders; and this they proposed to be done in every city, and the account to be brought to the sanhedrim at Jerusalem, who were to sit at certain times till this affair was finished:

until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us:
which it seems had broke out in some instances, and they feared would do yet more, unless this step was taken, whereby they hoped it would be averted.

Ezra 10:14 In-Context

12 In response, the whole assembly cried aloud, "Yes, our duty is to do as you have said.

13 But there are many people, and it's the rainy season - we can't stay out here in the open. Also, it isn't the work of a day or two; for there are many of us who have committed this crime.

14 Let our leaders represent the whole community; and let all those in our cities who have married foreign women appear at prearranged times, accompanied by the elders and judges of each city; until our God's fierce anger over this has been turned away from us."

15 Only Yonatan the son of 'Asah'el and Yachz'yah the son of Tikvah, supported by Meshulam and Shabtai the Levi, opposed this.

16 The exiles did as agreed. 'Ezra the cohen chose heads of fathers' clans by name, and they began their sessions to look into the matter on the first day of the tenth month.