The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them ¹  in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.

Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, just as these vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers.

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel.