Discovery BoxEzra 10:11-19 
Context10:11 Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents 1 and from these foreign wives.”
10:12 All the assembly replied in a loud voice: “We will do just as you have said! 2 10:13 However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season. 3 We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter. 10:14 Let our leaders take steps 4 on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”
10:15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah were 5 against this, assisted by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite. 10:16 So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out 6 by name men who were leaders in their family groups. 7 They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month, 10:17 and on the first day of the first month they finished considering all the men who had married foreign wives.
10:18 It was determined 8 that from the descendants of the priests, the following had taken foreign wives: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 10:19 (They gave their word 9 to send away their wives; their guilt offering was a ram from the flock for their guilt.)
1 tn Heb “the peoples of the land.”
2 tn Heb “thus according to your word [singular = Qere] concerning us, to do.”
3 tn Heb “the time [is] rain showers.”
4 tn Heb “stand.”
5 tn Heb “stood.”
6 tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּבְדֵּל לוֹ (vayyavdel lo, “separated for himself”) rather than the Niphal plural וַיִּבָּדְלוּ (vayyibbadÿlu, “were separated”) of the MT.
7 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”
8 tn Heb “found.”
9 tn Heb “hand.”
