And gathered are all the men of Judah and Benjamin to Jerusalem by the third day, it <FI>is<Fi> the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sit in the broad place of the house of God, trembling on account of the matter and of the showers.
Ezra 10:7 And they cause a voice to pass over into Judah and Jerusalem, to all sons of the removal, to be gathered to Jerusalem,
Ezra 10:8 and every one who cometh not in by the third day, according to the counsel of the heads and of the elders, all his substance is devoted, and himself separated from the assembly of the removal.
Ezra 10:9 And gathered are all the men of Judah and Benjamin to Jerusalem by the third day, it <FI>is<Fi> the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sit in the broad place of the house of God, trembling on account of the matter and of the showers.
Ezra 10:10 And Ezra the priest riseth, and saith unto them, `Ye--ye have trespassed, and ye settle strange women, to add to the guilt of Israel;
Ezra 10:11 and, now, make confession to Jehovah, God of your fathers, and do His good pleasure, and be separated from the peoples of the land, and from the strange women.'
The verse centers on "gathered", "judah", "benjamin", "jerusalem", "third", "ninth", "month", and "twentieth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gathered" and "judah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 8's "and every one who cometh not in..." into verse 10's "And Ezra the priest riseth and saith...", so "gathered" and "judah" belong inside that flow. In Ezra context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "gathered" and "judah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.