Nehemiah 8:1-7

8:1 all the people gathered together ¹  in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked ²  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 noon ³  before the men and women and those children who could understand. ⁴  All the people were eager to hear ⁵  the book of the law.

8:4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform ⁶  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 view ⁷  of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, ⁸  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 Levites ⁹  – were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing.

Nehemiah 8:14-15

8:14 They discovered written in the law that the LORD had commanded through ¹⁰  Moses that the Israelites should live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month, 8:15 and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message ¹¹  in all their cities and in Jerusalem: ¹²  “Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees, myrtle trees, date palms, and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters, as it is written.”

Nehemiah 8:18

8:18 Ezra ¹³  read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last. ¹⁴  They observed the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly ¹⁵  as was required. ¹⁶ 

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¹ tn Heb “like one man.”

² tn Heb “said [to].”

³ tn Heb “from the light till the noon of the day.”

⁴ tn Heb “all who could hear with understanding.” The word “children” is understood to be implied here by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, TEV, NLT).

⁵ tn Heb “the ears of all the people were toward.”

⁶ tn Heb “a tower of wood.”

⁷ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

⁸ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the book) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tc The MT reads “and the Levites.” The conjunction (“and”) should be deleted, following the LXX, Aquila, and the Vulgate. That the vav (ו) of the MT is the vav explicativum (“even the Levites”) is unlikely here.

¹⁰ tn Heb “by the hand of.”

¹¹ tn Heb “a voice.”

¹² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹³ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “the last day.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “on the eighth day an assembly.” The words “they held” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “according to the judgment.”