³⁵ Every word of every command that Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among them.

¹² Call them all together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns—so they may hear this Book of Instruction and learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the terms of these instructions.

² So on October 8^[a] Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand.

² “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard in front of the Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word.

⁵ When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women^[a] and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed,

¹⁴ When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.

The People Confess Their Sin

10 While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him.

¹¹ Your little ones and your wives are with you, as well as the foreigners living among you who chop your wood and carry your water.

²⁷ for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.