Nehemiah 8

8:1 all the people gathered together1 in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked2 Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel. 8:2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.) 8:3 So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon3 before the men and women and those who could understand. All the people were eager to hear4 the book of the law.

8:4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering platform5 constructed for this purpose. Standing near him on his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Masseiah. On his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 8:5 Ezra opened the book in plain view6 of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book,7 all the people stood up. 8:6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

8:7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—all of whom were Levites8—were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing. 8:8 They read from the book of God’s law, explaining it9 and imparting insight. Thus the people10 gained understanding from what was read.

8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor,11 Ezra the priestly scribe,12 and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them,13 “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law. 8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord.14 Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

8:11 Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.” 8:12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food15 with others16 and to enjoy tremendous joy,17 for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them.

8:13 On the second day of the month the family leaders18 were gathered to Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law. 8:14 They discovered written in the law that the LORD had commanded through19 Moses that the Israelites should live in huts during the festival of the seventh month, 8:15 and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message20 in all their cities and in Jerusalem:21 “Go to the hill country and bring back olive leaves and leaves of wild olive trees and leaves of myrtle trees and leaves of date-palms and of leafy trees to construct huts, as it is written.”

8:16 So the people went out and brought these things22 back and constructed huts for themselves, each on his roof and in his courtyard and in the courtyards of the temple of God23 and in the plaza of the Water Gate and the plaza of the Ephraim Gate. 8:17 So all the assembly which had returned from the exile constructed huts and lived in them. The Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. Everyone experienced very great joy.24 8:18 Ezra25 read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last.26 They observed the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly27 as was required.28

The People Acknowledge Their Sin before God

Next Chapter