10:9 Judah and Benjamin. See note 1:5.

the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. It was December, in the cold and rainy season. Jerusalem is colder than most of the countryside around it, and rainfall in the region is more concentrated than in temperate climates.

all the people. The people as a whole responded to the proclamation.

trembling because of this matter. Ezra’s distress had spread throughout the populace (v. 1 note).