So Esdras arose, and made the chiefs of the priests and of the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. And they swore.
And Sechenias the son of Jehiel of the sons of Elam answered, and said to Esdras: We have sinned against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land. And now if there be repentance in Israel concerning this,
If thou dost this, thou shalt fulfil the commandment of God, and shalt be able to bear his precepts: and all this people shall return to their places with peace.
And choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them rulers of the people, rulers over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.