Nehemiah 8-10

New International Reader's Version

8 ¹ all of them gathered together. They went to the open area in front of the Water Gate. They told Ezra to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses. The Lord had given Israel that Law so they would obey him. Ezra was the teacher of the Law.

² Ezra the priest brought the Law out to the whole community. It was the first day of the seventh month. The group was made up of men, women, and children old enough to understand what Ezra was going to read. ³ He read the Law to them from sunrise until noon. He did it as he faced the open area in front of the Water Gate. He read it to the men, the women, and the children old enough to understand. And all the people paid careful attention as Ezra was reading the Book of the Law.

⁴ Ezra, the teacher of the Law, stood on a high wooden stage. It had been built for the occasion. Mattithiah, Shema and Anaiah stood at his right side. So did Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah. Pedaiah, Mishael and Malkijah stood at his left side. So did Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.

⁵ Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him. That’s because he was standing above them. As he opened the book, the people stood up. ⁶ Ezra praised the Lord. He is the great God. All the people lifted up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down. They turned their faces toward the ground and worshiped the Lord.

⁷ The Levites taught the Law to the people. They remained standing while the Levites taught them. The Levites who were there included Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai and Hodiah. They also included Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah. ⁸ All these Levites read to the people parts of the Book of the Law of God. They made it clear to them. They told them what it meant. So the people understood what was being read.

⁹ Nehemiah was the governor. Ezra was a priest and the teacher of the Law. They spoke up. So did the Levites who were teaching the people. All these men said to the people, “This day is set apart to honor the Lord your God. So don’t weep. Don’t be sad.” All the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy some good food and sweet drinks. Send some of it to people who don’t have any. This day is holy to our Lord. So don’t be sad. The joy of the Lord makes you strong.”

¹¹ The Levites calmed all the people down. They said, “Be quiet. This is a holy day. So don’t be sad.”

¹² Then all the people went away to eat and drink. They shared their food with others. They celebrated with great joy. Now they understood the words they had heard. That’s because everything had been explained to them.

¹³ All the family leaders gathered around Ezra, the teacher. So did the priests and Levites. All of them paid attention to the words of the Law. It was the second day of the month. ¹⁴ The Lord had given the Law through Moses. He wanted the Israelites to obey it. It is written there that they were supposed to live in booths during the Feast of Booths. That feast was celebrated in the seventh month. ¹⁵ They were also supposed to spread the message all through their towns and in Jerusalem. They were supposed to announce, “Go out into the central hill country. Bring back some branches from olive and wild olive trees. Also bring some from myrtle, palm and shade trees. Use the branches to make booths.”

¹⁶ So the people went out and brought back some branches. They built themselves booths on their own roofs. They made them in their courtyards. They put them up in the courtyards of the house of God. They built them in the open area in front of the Water Gate. And they built them in the open area in front of the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ All the people who had returned from the land of Babylon made booths. They lived in them during the Feast of Booths. They hadn’t celebrated the feast with so much joy for a long time. In fact, they had never celebrated it like that from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, until that day. So their joy was very great.

¹⁸ Day after day, Ezra read parts of the Book of the Law of God to them. He read it out loud from the first day to the last. They celebrated the Feast of Booths for seven days. On the eighth day they gathered together. They followed the required rules for celebrating the feast.

The Israelites Admit They Have Sinned

9 It was the 24th day of the seventh month. The Israelites gathered together again. They didn’t eat any food. They wore the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. They put dust on their heads. ² The Israelites separated themselves from everyone else. They stood and admitted they had sinned. They also admitted that their people before them had sinned. ³ They stood where they were. They listened while the Levites read parts of the Book of the Law of the Lord their God. They listened for a fourth of the day. They spent another fourth of the day admitting their sins. They also worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ Some people were standing on the stairs of the Levites. They included Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani. With loud voices they called out to the Lord their God. ⁵ Then some Levites spoke up. They included Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah. They said to the people, “Stand up. Praise the Lord your God. He lives for ever and ever!”

So the people said, “Lord, may your glorious name be praised. May it be lifted high above every other name that is blessed and praised. ⁶ You are the one and only Lord. You made the heavens. You made even the highest heavens. You created all the stars in the sky. You created the earth and everything on it. And you made the oceans and everything in them. You give life to everything. Every living being in heaven worships you.

⁷ “You are the Lord God. You chose Abram. You brought him out of Ur in the land of Babylon. You named him Abraham. ⁸ You knew that his heart was faithful to you. And you made a covenant with him. You promised to give to his children after him a land of their own. It was the land of the Canaanites, Hittites and Amorites. The Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites also lived there. You have kept your promise. That’s because you always do what is right and fair.

⁹ “You saw how our people of long ago suffered in Egypt. You heard them cry out to you at the Red Sea. ¹⁰ You sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh. You sent plagues on all his officials. In fact, you sent them on all the people of Egypt. You knew how they treated our people. They looked down on them. But you made a name for yourself. That name remains to this very day. ¹¹ You parted the waters of the Red Sea for the Israelites. They passed through it on dry ground. But you threw into the sea those who chased them. They sank down like a stone into the mighty waters. ¹² By day you led the Israelites with a pillar of cloud. At night you led them with a pillar of fire. It gave them light to show them the way you wanted them to go.

¹³ “You came down on Mount Sinai. From heaven you spoke to our people. You gave them rules and laws. Those laws are right and fair. You gave them orders and commands that are good. ¹⁴ You taught them about your holy Sabbath day. You gave them commands, orders and laws. You did it through your servant Moses. ¹⁵ When the people were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, you brought them water out of a rock. You told them to go into the land of Canaan. You told them to take it as their own. It was the land you had promised to give them.

¹⁶ “But our people before us became proud and stubborn. They didn’t obey your commands. ¹⁷ They refused to listen to you. They forgot the miracles you had done among them. So they became stubborn. When they refused to obey you, they appointed a leader for themselves. They wanted to go back to being slaves in Egypt. But you are a God who forgives. You are gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. So you didn’t desert them. ¹⁸ They made for themselves a metal statue of a god that looked like a calf. They said to one another, ‘Here is your god. He brought you up out of Egypt.’ And they did evil things that dishonored you. But you still didn’t desert them.

¹⁹ “Because you loved them so much, you didn’t leave them in the desert. During the day the pillar of cloud didn’t stop guiding them on their path. At night the pillar of fire didn’t stop shining on the way you wanted them to go. ²⁰ You gave them your good Spirit to teach them. You didn’t hold back your manna from their mouths. And you gave them water when they were thirsty. ²¹ For 40 years you took good care of them in the desert. They had everything they needed. Their clothes didn’t wear out. And their feet didn’t swell up.

²² “You gave them kingdoms and nations. You even gave them lands far away. They took over the country of Sihon. He was the king of Heshbon. They also took over the country of Og. He was the king of Bashan. ²³ You gave them as many children as there are stars in the sky. You told their parents to enter the land. You told them to take it over. And you brought their children into it. ²⁴ Their children went into the land. They took it as their own. You brought the Canaanites under Israel’s control. The Canaanites lived in the land. But you handed them over to Israel. You also handed over their kings and the other nations in the land to Israel. You allowed Israel to deal with them just as they wanted to. ²⁵ Your people captured cities that had high walls around them. They also took over the rich land in Canaan. They took houses filled with all kinds of good things. They took over wells that had already been dug. They took many vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees. They ate until they were very full and satisfied. They were filled with joy because you were so good to them.

²⁶ “But they didn’t obey you. Instead, they turned against you. They turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets. The prophets had warned them to return to you. But they did very evil things that dishonored you. ²⁷ So you handed them over to their enemies, who treated them badly. Then they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them. You loved them very much. So you sent leaders to help them. The leaders saved them from the power of their enemies.

²⁸ “Then the people were enjoying peace and rest again. That’s when they did what you did not want them to do. Then you handed them over to their enemies. So their enemies ruled over them. When they cried out to you again, you heard them from heaven. You loved them very much. So you saved them time after time.

²⁹ “You warned them so that they would obey your law again. But they became proud. They didn’t obey your commands. They sinned against your rules. You said, ‘Anyone who obeys my rules will live by them.’ But the people didn’t care about that. They turned their backs on you. They became very stubborn. They refused to listen to you. ³⁰ For many years you put up with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. In spite of that, they didn’t pay any attention. So you handed them over to the nations that were around them. ³¹ But you loved them very much. So you didn’t put an end to them. You didn’t desert them. That’s because you are a gracious God. You are tender and kind.

³² “Our God, you are the great God. You are mighty and wonderful. You keep the covenant you made with us. You show us your love. So don’t let all our suffering seem like a small thing to you. We’ve suffered greatly. So have our kings and leaders. So have our priests and prophets. Our people who lived long ago also suffered. And all your people are suffering right now. In fact, we’ve been suffering from the time of the kings of Assyria until today. ³³ In spite of everything that has happened to us, you have been fair. You have been faithful in what you have done. But we did what was evil. ³⁴ Our kings and leaders didn’t follow your law. Our priests and our people before us didn’t follow it either. They didn’t pay any attention to your commands or rules that you warned them to keep. ³⁵ They didn’t serve you. They didn’t turn from their evil ways. They didn’t obey you even when they had a kingdom. You were very good to them. And they enjoyed it. You gave them a rich land. It had plenty of room in it. But they still didn’t serve you.

³⁶ “Now look at us. We are slaves today. We’re slaves in the land you gave our people of long ago. You gave it to them so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. ³⁷ But we have sinned against you. So its great harvest goes to the kings of Persia. You have placed them over us. They rule over our bodies and cattle just as they please. And we are suffering terribly.

The People Agree to Obey God’s Law

³⁸ “So we are making a firm agreement. We’re writing it down. Our leaders are putting their official marks on it. And so are our Levites and priests.”

10 Here are the names of those who put their official marks on the agreement.

²⁸ The rest of the people gathered together. They included the priests, the Levites and the men who guarded the gates. They included the musicians and temple servants. They also included all the people who separated themselves from the surrounding nations to obey the Law of God. All these men brought their wives with them. And they brought all their sons and daughters who were old enough to understand what was being agreed to. ²⁹ All the men joined the nobles of their people. They made a firm agreement. They made a promise and said they would be cursed if they didn’t keep it. They promised to follow the Law of God. It had been given through Moses, the servant of God. They promised to obey carefully all the commands, rules and laws of the Lord our Lord.

³⁰ Here is what the priests, Levites and people said. “We promise not to let our daughters marry men from the nations around us. And we promise not to let their daughters marry our sons.

³¹ “The people around us will bring goods and grain to sell on the Sabbath day. But we won’t buy anything from them on the Sabbath day. In fact, we won’t buy anything from them on any holy day. Every seventh year we won’t farm the land. And we’ll forgive people what they owe us.

³² “We will be accountable for carrying out the commands for serving in the house of our God. Each of us will give an eighth of an ounce of silver every year. ³³ It will pay for the holy bread that is placed on the table in the temple. It will pay for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings. It will pay for the offerings on the Sabbath days. It will pay for the offerings at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed feasts. It will pay for the holy offerings. It will be used for sin offerings to pay for the sins of Israel. It will also pay for everything else that needs to be done at the house of our God.

³⁴ “We are the priests, Levites and people. Each of our families should bring a gift of wood to the house of our God. We have cast lots to decide when they will do that. They will bring it at certain appointed times every year. The wood will be burned on the altar of the Lord our God. That’s what the Law requires.

³⁵ “We will also be accountable for bringing the first share of our crops each year. And we’ll bring the first share of every fruit tree. We’ll bring them to the Lord’s house.

³⁶ “Each of us will bring our oldest son to the priests who serve there. We’ll also bring the male animals that were born first to their mothers among our cattle, herds and flocks. We’ll bring them to the house of our God. That’s what the Law requires.

³⁷ “We will also bring the first part of the meal we grind. We’ll bring the first of our grain offerings. We’ll bring the first share of fruit from all our trees. And we’ll bring the first share of our olive oil and fresh wine. We’ll give all those things to the priests. They’ll put them in the storerooms of the house of our God. And we’ll give a tenth of our crops to the Levites. They collect the tenth shares. They do it in all the towns where we work. ³⁸ A priest from Aaron’s family line must go with the Levites when they receive the tenth shares. And the Levites must bring a tenth of those shares up to the house of our God. They must put it in the rooms where the treasures are stored. ³⁹ The people of Israel, including the Levites, must bring their gifts. They must bring grain, olive oil and fresh wine. They must put them in the storerooms where the objects for the temple are kept. That’s also where the objects are kept for the priests serving at the temple, the musicians and the men who guard the gates.

“We won’t forget to take care of the house of our God.”