The king stood beside the pillar and made a promise to the Lord that he would follow the Lord and obey his commands, instructions, and laws with all his heart and soul. He confirmed the terms of the promise written in this book. And all the people joined in the promise.
So we must now make a promise to our God to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them, as my lord ⌞Ezra⌟ and the others who tremble at the commandments of our God have advised us to do. We must do what Moses’ Teachings tell us.
These are the words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah: During the month of Chislev, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, while I was in the fortress at Susa,
Some of the heads of the families contributed to this work. The governor contributed the following to the treasury: nearly 18 pounds of gold, 50 bowls, and 530 robes for the priests.
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people told them, “This is a holy day for the Lord your God. Don’t mourn or cry.” All the people were crying as they listened to the reading of God’s Teachings.
“We are making a binding agreement ⌞and putting it⌟ in writing because of all this. Our leaders, Levites, and priests are putting their seals on the document.”
So Moses wrote down all the Lord’s words. Early the next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and ⌞set up⌟ 12 sacred stones for the 12 tribes of Israel.