⁵ Then Ezra rose to his feet and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been said. In unison they took the oath. ⁶ Then Ezra departed from his place before the house of God and entered the room of Jehohanan, the son of Eliashib, where he spent the night without eating food or drinking water, because he was in mourning over the betrayal by the exiles.

⁷ A proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all of the exiles were to assemble in Jerusalem,