Nehemiah 8
New English Translation
8 1 all the people gathered together[a] in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked[b] Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded Israel. 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.) 3 So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon[c] before the men and women and those children who could understand.[d] All the people were eager to hear[e] the book of the law.
4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform[f] 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. 5 Ezra opened the book in plain view[g] of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book,[h] all the people stood up. 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.
7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—all of whom were Levites[i]—were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing. 8 They read from the book of God’s law, explaining it[j] and imparting insight. Thus the people[k] gained understanding from what was read.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor,[l] Ezra the priestly scribe,[m] and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them,[n] “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. 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.[o] Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
11 Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.” 12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food[p] with others[q] and to enjoy tremendous joy,[r] for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them.
13 On the second day of the month the family leaders[s] met with[t] Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law. 14 They discovered written in the law that the Lord had commanded through[u] Moses that the Israelites should live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month, 15 and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message[v] in all their cities and in Jerusalem: “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.”
16 So the people went out and brought these things[w] back and constructed temporary shelters for themselves, each on his roof and in his courtyard and in the courtyards of the temple[x] of God and in the plaza of the Water Gate and the plaza of the Ephraim Gate. 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.[y] 18 Ezra[z] read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last.[aa] They observed the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly[ab] as was required.[ac]
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 8:1 tn Heb “like one man.”
- Nehemiah 8:1 tn Heb “said [to].”
- Nehemiah 8:3 tn Heb “from the light till the noon of the day.”
- Nehemiah 8:3 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).
- Nehemiah 8:3 tn Heb “the ears of all the people were toward.”
- Nehemiah 8:4 tn Heb “a tower of wood.”
- Nehemiah 8:5 tn Heb “to the eyes.”
- Nehemiah 8:5 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the book) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 8:7 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.
- Nehemiah 8:8 tn The exact meaning of the pual participle מְפֹרָשׁ (meforash) in this verse is uncertain. The basic sense of the Hebrew word seems to be “to make distinct.” The word may also have the sense of “to divide in parts,” “to interpret,” or “to translate.” The context of Neh 8:8 does not decisively clarify how the participle is to be understood here. It probably refers to the role of the Levites as those who explained or interpreted the portions of biblical text that had been publicly read on this occasion. A different option, however, is suggested by the translation distincte (“distinctly”) of the Vulgate (cf. KJV, ASV). If the Hebrew word means “distinctly” here, it would imply that the readers paid particular attention to such things as word-grouping and pronunciation so as to be sure that the listeners had every opportunity to understand the message that was being read. Yet another view is found in the Talmud, which understands translation of the Hebrew text into Aramaic to be what is in view here. The following explanation of Neh 8:8 is found in b. Megillah 3a: “‘And they read in the book, in the law of God’: this indicates the [Hebrew] text; ‘with an interpretation’: this indicates the targum; ‘and they gave the sense’: this indicates the verse stops; ‘and caused them to understand the reading’: this indicates the accentuation, or, according to another version, the Masoretic notes.” However, this ancient rabbinic view that the origins of the Targum are found in Neh 8:8 is debatable. It is not clear that the practice of paraphrasing the Hebrew biblical text into Aramaic in order to accommodate the needs of those Jews who were not at home in the Hebrew language developed this early. The translation of מְפֹרָשׁ adopted above (i.e., “explaining it”) understands the word to have in mind an explanatory function (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT) rather than one of translation.
- Nehemiah 8:8 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 8:9 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.
- Nehemiah 8:9 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”
- Nehemiah 8:9 tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
- Nehemiah 8:10 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Nehemiah 8:12 tn Heb “to send portions.”
- Nehemiah 8:12 tn The Hebrew text does not include the phrase “with others” but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 8:12 tn Heb “to make great joy.”
- Nehemiah 8:13 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
- Nehemiah 8:13 tn Heb “were gathered to”; NAB, NIV “gathered around”; NRSV “came together to.”
- Nehemiah 8:14 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
- Nehemiah 8:15 tn Heb “a voice.”
- Nehemiah 8:16 tn The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 8:16 tn Heb “the house.”
- Nehemiah 8:17 tn Heb “And there was very great joy.”
- Nehemiah 8:18 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 8:18 tn Heb “the last day.”
- Nehemiah 8:18 tn Heb “on the eighth day an assembly.” The words “they held” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 8:18 tn Heb “according to the judgment.”
Nehemiah 8
English Standard Version
Ezra Reads the Law
8 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before (A)the Water Gate. And they told (B)Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest (C)brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, (D)on the first day of the seventh month. 3 (E)And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, (F)“Amen, Amen,” (G)lifting up their hands. (H)And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 (I)Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites,[a] (J)helped the people to understand the Law, (K)while the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly,[b] and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
This Day Is Holy
9 And Nehemiah, who was (L)the governor, and Ezra (M)the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, (N)“This day is holy to the Lord your God; (O)do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and (P)send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because (Q)they had understood the words that were declared to them.
Feast of Booths Celebrated
13 On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. 14 And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses (R)that the people of Israel should dwell in booths[c] during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should proclaim it and (S)publish it in all their towns and (T)in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring (U)branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each (V)on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at (W)the Water Gate and in the square at (X)the Gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day (Y)the people of Israel had not done so. And there was (Z)very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, (AA)he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and (AB)on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 8:7 Vulgate; Hebrew and the Levites
- Nehemiah 8:8 Or with interpretation, or paragraph by paragraph
- Nehemiah 8:14 Or temporary shelters
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
