⁵ So Ezra got up. He made the leading priests and Levites and all the Israelites make a promise. He made them promise they would do what Shekaniah had suggested. And they made that promise. ⁶ Then Ezra left the house of God. He went to Jehohanan’s room. Jehohanan was the son of Eliashib. While Ezra was there, he didn’t eat any food. He didn’t drink any water. That’s because he was filled with sadness. He mourned because the people weren’t faithful to the Lord’s commands. Those people were the ones who had returned from the land of Babylon.

⁷ Then an announcement was sent all through Judah and Jerusalem. All the people who had returned were told to gather together in Jerusalem.