Nehemiah 8:13-18
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Festival of Booths Observed
13 On the second day, the family leaders of all the people, along with the priests and Levites,(A) assembled before Ezra the scribe(B) to study the words of the law. 14 They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the festival of the seventh month.(C) 15 So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, just as it is written.”(D) 16 The people went out, brought back branches, and made booths for themselves on each of their rooftops,(E) and courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate,(F) and the square by the Gate of Ephraim.(G) 17 The whole community that had returned from exile(H) made booths and lived in them. They had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day.(I) And there was tremendous joy.(J) 18 Ezra[a] read out of the book of the law of God(K) every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly, according to the ordinance.(L)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 8:18 Some Hb mss, Syr read They
Nehemiah 8:13-18
New Living Translation
The Festival of Shelters
13 On October 9[a] the family leaders of all the people, together with the priests and Levites, met with Ezra the scribe to go over the Law in greater detail. 14 As they studied the Law, they discovered that the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that month.[b] 15 He had said that a proclamation should be made throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, telling the people to go to the hills to get branches from olive, wild olive,[c] myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees. They were to use these branches to make shelters in which they would live during the festival, as prescribed in the Law.
16 So the people went out and cut branches and used them to build shelters on the roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of God’s Temple, or in the squares just inside the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate. 17 So everyone who had returned from captivity lived in these shelters during the festival, and they were all filled with great joy! The Israelites had not celebrated like this since the days of Joshua[d] son of Nun.
18 Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God on each of the seven days of the festival. Then on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, as was required by law.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 8:13 Hebrew On the second day, of the seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was October 9, 445 B.c.; also see notes on 1:1 and 8:2.
- 8:14 Hebrew in the seventh month. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of September and October. See Lev 23:39-43.
- 8:15 Or pine; Hebrew reads oil tree.
- 8:17 Hebrew Jeshua, a variant spelling of Joshua.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
