¹¹ when all Israel comes to appear^(A) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose,^(B) you shall read this law^(C) before them in their hearing.

² He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read^(A) in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,^(B) which had been found in the temple of the Lord.

³⁴ Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law.^{(A) 35} There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.^(B)

¹⁶ Three times a year all your men must appear^(A) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(B) the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles.^(C) No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed:^{(D) 17} Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.

8 ¹ all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate.^(A) They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses,^(B) which the Lord had commanded for Israel.

² So on the first day of the seventh month^(C) Ezra the priest brought the Law^(D) before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. ³ He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate^(E) in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

⁴ Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform^(F) built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.

⁵ Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing^(G) above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. ⁶ Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands^(H) and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁷ The Levites^(I)—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed^(J) the people in the Law while the people were standing there. ⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear^[a] and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.

⁵ But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name^(A) there for his dwelling.^(B) To that place you must go;

²⁴ I will drive out nations^(A) before you and enlarge your territory,^(B) and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

¹⁶ “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest^(A) with the firstfruits^(B) of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering^(C) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.^(D)

¹⁷ “Three times^(E) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

²¹ For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”^(A)