Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin. The returned captives belonged chiefly to these tribes; but other Israelites are also included under these names, as they were all then occupying the territory formerly assigned to those two tribes.
It was the ninth month - i:e., between the end of December and the beginning of January, which is the coldest and most rainy season of the year in Palestine.
All the people sat in the street - i:e., the court or area "of the house of God," in which the people stood as worshippers.