Then Ezra arose and had the leaders of the priests and Levites of all Israel take oath that they would do this: The verb arose can once again be taken literally, but probably means “began” (Good News Bible) in this context (see the comments on the previous verse). The leaders of the priests and Levites of all Israel is an unusual phrase, but this is clearly what the Greek says, rather than “the leaders of the priests, of the Levites, and of the rest of the people” (Good News Bible). The question is whether the phrase of all Israel goes only with Levites or with priests and Levites. Surely it goes with both (see our model below). For priests and Levites, see the comments on 1 Esd 1.2-3. For oath see verse 93. That they would do this refers to sending away their foreign wives and the children of these wives. Good News Bible says “that they would divorce their foreign wives,” which is not really adequate, because a divorced woman could remain within the community, but the purpose was to get rid of them, so that Jewish territory would be truly and purely Jewish (see the comments on verse 93; compare also 1 Esd 9.9).

And they took the oath: The implication in this verse is that Ezra sent out orders for the leading priests and Levites throughout Judah to take this oath. Good News Bible omits this clause, but it is better to keep it for emphasis.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• So Ezra began by making every leading priest and Levite in Judah swear that they would send their non-Jewish wives out of the community. They swore [or, made a solemn promise] to do so.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.