1
Then Ezra set out and went from the court of the temple to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib,
2
and spent the night there; and he did not eat bread or drink water, for he was mourning over the great iniquities of the multitude.
3
And a proclamation was made throughout Judea and Jerusalem to all who had returned from exile that they should assemble at Jerusalem,
4
and that if any did not meet there within two or three days, in accordance with the decision of the ruling elders, their livestock would be seized for sacrifice and the men themselves expelled from the multitude of those who had returned from the captivity.
5
Then the men of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days; this was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month.
6
All the multitude sat in the open square before the temple, shivering because of the bad weather that prevailed.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.