11
Now therefore makeconfession unto the LORDGod of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strangewives.
12
Then all the congregationanswered and said with a loudvoice, As thou hast said, so must we do .
13
But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to standwithout, neither is this a work of oneday or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.
14
Let now our rulers of all the congregationstand , and let all them which have takenstrangewives in our citiescome at appointedtimes, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fiercewrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.
15
Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levitehelped them.
16
And the children of the captivity did so . And Ezra the priest, with certainchief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated , and sat down in the firstday of the tenthmonth to examine the matter.
17
And they made an end with all the men that had takenstrangewives by the firstday of the firstmonth.
18
And among the sons of the priests there were found that had takenstrangewives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren;Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19
And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.