Nehemiah 8

All the people came together as one group in the open square in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel to keep.

1And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.

Note"The book" was a scroll, not a bound volume, the law of Moses (the first five books of the Bible) written on sewn lengths of parchment or leather and rolled up. A "scribe" in this period was not merely a copyist but a trained legal expert, a recognized office; Ezra held it under Persian authority. The Water Gate was a gate in Jerusalem's eastern wall, near the city's spring; the broad open space outside it was ordinary public ground rather than temple ground, which is why the whole population, women included, could assemble there.

2So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law out in front of the gathered people, both men and women, and everyone who was able to listen and understand.

2And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

NoteThe seventh month is Tishri, falling in our September–October. Its first day was itself a sacred day announced by trumpet blasts (Leviticus 23:23–25), which is why verse 9 calls the day holy. "All that could hear with understanding" means everyone old enough to follow what was read, children above a certain age, not infants.

3He read from it aloud, facing the open square in front of the Water Gate, from early morning until noon, in front of the men, the women, and all who could understand. Everyone listened closely to the book of the law.

3And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

Note"From the morning" is from first light; the reading therefore ran some five or six hours.

4Ezra the scribe stood on a raised wooden platform that had been built for this. Standing at his right side were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. At his left side were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchiah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

4And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

NoteThe King James "pulpit" does not mean a church pulpit. The Hebrew word is the ordinary one for a tower or raised structure, here a wooden stand built for the occasion, large enough to hold Ezra and thirteen other men.

5Ezra opened the book where all the people could see it, since he was standing above them all. When he opened it, all the people stood up.

5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:

NoteStanding when the scroll was opened was a gesture of respect for what was about to be read, comparable to rising when a court is called to order.

6Ezra praised the LORD, the great God, and all the people lifted up their hands and answered, "Amen, Amen." Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

6And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Note"Amen" is a Hebrew word, left untranslated in English Bibles, meaning roughly "truly" or "let it stand." By saying it the crowd made the blessing their own rather than merely listening to it. Raised hands were the normal posture for prayer in this culture, not a special sign of excitement.

7The Levites also helped the people understand the law: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah. The people stayed standing where they were.

7Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

NoteThe Levites were members of the tribe of Levi, who served as assistants at the temple and, as here, as teachers and interpreters of the law to ordinary people.

8So they read clearly from the book of the law of God, explaining what it meant, so that the people understood what was being read.

8So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

NoteThe King James "distinctly" translates a Hebrew word whose exact sense is disputed. It may mean reading clearly, with pauses that broke the text into units; it may mean translating, since many who had returned from Babylon spoke Aramaic in daily life and would have followed written Hebrew only with difficulty. The phrase that follows, "gave the sense", indicates explanation of some kind either way.

9Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were teaching the people, all said to the people, "Today is a holy day to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or cry." They said this because all the people were crying as they heard the words of the law.

9And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.

Note"Tirshatha" is a Persian title for the governor of a province, left untranslated in the King James. Nehemiah held the post under the Persian king. Weeping and mourning were public, audible acts in this culture, which is why they had to be actively quieted.

10Then he said to them, "Go and eat the best food and drink something sweet, and send some to people who have nothing ready, because today is holy to our Lord. Do not be sad, because the joy of the LORD is your strength."

10Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Note"Eat the fat" means eat the richest food; animal fat was the choicest part of a meal, not something to be avoided. "The sweet" means sweet wine. Sending portions was a fixed festival custom: households cooked more than they needed and sent shares to those with nothing prepared, so that no one was excluded from the feast.

11So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Be still, because today is a holy day. Do not be sad."

11So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.

12Then all the people went off to eat and drink, to send food to others, and to celebrate with great joy, because they had understood the words that had been explained to them.

12And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.

13On the second day, the heads of the families of all the people, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to study the words of the law more closely.

13And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.

Note"The chief of the fathers" means the heads of the extended family households into which the population was organized, the leading men of each clan, who represented it in public matters.

14They found it written in the law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the people of Israel were to live in shelters made of branches during the feast in the seventh month.

14And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:

NoteThe shelters, traditionally "booths" or "tabernacles", were temporary huts roofed with cut branches, occupied for a week each autumn under the festival law of Leviticus 23:33–43. The law tied the practice both to the end of the harvest and to the period when Israel had lived in temporary shelters after leaving Egypt.

15They were also to announce this news and spread it through all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out to the hills and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, and palm, and branches of other leafy trees, to make shelters, as it is written."

15And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

Note"The mount" is the hill country immediately around Jerusalem. The King James "pine" renders a Hebrew phrase meaning "oil tree," most likely the wild olive; "branches of thick trees" means leafy branches generally. The point of the list is foliage dense enough to roof a hut.

16So the people went out, brought back branches, and made shelters for themselves. They built them on the flat roofs of their houses, in their yards, in the courtyards of the house of God, and in the open squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim.

16So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

NoteRoofs in this region were flat, reached by an outside stair, and used as extra living space, a normal place to sleep or work, so a natural place to pitch a shelter. The Gate of Ephraim was a gate in Jerusalem's northern wall, named for the direction of the territory of Ephraim, which lay north of the city.

17The whole group of people who had come back from exile made shelters and lived in them. From the days of Jeshua son of Nun until that day, the people of Israel had not done this. And there was very great joy.

17And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

Note"Jeshua son of Nun" is Joshua, who led Israel after Moses; the King James spells his name here as the Hebrew form, the same name borne by other men in this book. The claim that Israel had not done this since Joshua's day is open to more than one reading: the Hebrew may mean the festival had lapsed entirely, or that it had not been kept in this manner or on this scale, since Ezra 3:4 records the festival being observed earlier in the return.

18Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the book of the law of God. They kept the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a formal assembly, following the rule that had been given.

18Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

NoteThe eighth day gathering was a closing assembly commanded in the festival law (Leviticus 23:36), an extra day of rest and assembly after the seven days of living in shelters. "According unto the manner" means simply that they did it as the written rule prescribed.