Discovery BoxNehemiah 8:9-18 
Context8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, 1 Ezra the priestly scribe, 2 and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, 3 “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. 4 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 food 5 with others 6 and to enjoy tremendous joy, 7 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 leaders 8 met with 9 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 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.”
8:16 So the people went out and brought these things 13 back and constructed temporary shelters for themselves, each on his roof and in his courtyard and in the courtyards of the temple 14 of God 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 temporary shelters 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. 15 8:18 Ezra 16 read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last. 17 They observed the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly 18 as was required. 19
1 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.
2 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”
3 tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
4 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
5 tn Heb “to send portions.”
6 tn The Hebrew text does not include the phrase “with others” but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “to make great joy.”
8 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
9 tn Heb “were gathered to”; NAB, NIV “gathered around”; NRSV “came together to.”
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 The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “the house.”
15 tn Heb “And there was very great joy.”
16 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “the last day.”
18 tn Heb “on the eighth day an assembly.” The words “they held” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Heb “according to the judgment.”
