8:4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform 1 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.
8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, 2 Ezra the priestly scribe, 3 and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, 4 “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.
8:13 On the second day of the month the family leaders 5 met with 6 Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law.
1 tn Heb “a tower of wood.”
2 tc The unexpected reference to Nehemiah here has led some scholars to suspect that the phrase “Nehemiah the governor” is a later addition to the text and not original.
3 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”
4 tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
5 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
6 tn Heb “were gathered to”; NAB, NIV “gathered around”; NRSV “came together to.”