⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take branches^(A) from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees^(B)—and rejoice^(C) before the Lord your God for seven days.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,^(A) standing before the throne^(B) and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes^(C) and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Final Exhortations

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!^(A)

¹⁴ Be joyful^(A) at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. ¹⁵ For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy^(B) will be complete.

¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.^(A)

²² So with you: Now is your time of grief,^(A) but I will see you again^(B) and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.^(C)

¹³ They took palm branches^(A) and went out to meet him, shouting,

¹⁴ They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters^(A) during the festival of the seventh month ¹⁵ and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.^[a]

¹⁶ So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate^(B) and the one by the Gate of Ephraim.^{(C) 17} The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them.^(D) From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated^(E) it like this. And their joy was very great.