עזרא, פרק י׳, פסוק י״ז

A complex national process of separation finally reaches its conclusion. After a period of active purification, the community resolves the issue of intermarriage. The action of finishing applies to all the men involved [אבן עזרא, מלבי"ם], specifically targeting those who had brought foreign, idol-worshipping women into their homes to marry them [רש"י, מצודת דוד, מלבי"ם].

While commentators agree that this marks the end of the affair, they offer different perspectives on the exact nature of this completion. The primary approach among commentators is that the physical correction of the sin was accomplished. This means the actual separation was carried out, and the foreign wives were officially removed from the community [רש"י, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Alternatively, another perspective suggests that the completion refers to the thorough process of investigation. In this view, the leaders had successfully finished inquiring in every location to accurately identify all the individuals who had participated in these forbidden marriages [רלב"ג].

Ultimately, this entire undertaking was brought to a close by a specific deadline: the first day of the first month, which is the month of Nisan [רש"י, ביאור שטיינזלץ].