Our God, punish those people! We have no power against this large army that is coming against us! We don’t know what to do! That is why we look to you for help!” {\cf2\super [229]}
Then the Lord’s Spirit came on Jahaziel. Jahaziel was Zechariah’s son. Zechariah was Benaiah’s son. Benaiah was Jeiel’s son. And Jeiel was Mattaniah’s son. Jahaziel was a Levite and a descendant {\cf2\super [230]} of Asaph. In the middle of the meeting,
Ezra was praying and confessing. He was crying and bowing down in front of God’s temple. While Ezra was doing that, a large group of the people of Israel—men, women, and children—gathered around him. Those people were also crying very hard.
Bring together the people.\par Call for a special meeting.\par Bring together the older men.\par Bring together the children.\par Bring the small babies\par that still suck their mother’s breasts.\par Let the bride and her new husband\par come from their bedroom.\par
The people of Nineveh believed \{the message from\} God. The people decided to stop eating for a time \{to think about their sins\}. The people put on special clothes \{to show that they were sorry\}. All the people in the city did this—the most important people and the least important people.
But when we finished our visit, we left. We continued our trip. All the followers \{of Jesus\}, even the women and children, came outside the city with us to say good-bye. We all kneeled down on the beach and prayed.