Nehemiah 8

All the people gathered as one in the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square in front of the Water Gate from daybreak until noon, before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform they had made for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; on his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above them all. When he opened it, all the people stood. Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites helped the people understand the law, while the people remained in their places. They read clearly from the book, from the Law of God, giving the meaning so that the people understood the reading. Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were helping the people understand said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go, eat rich food and drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” The Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.” Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions, and to celebrate with great joy, because they had understood the words that had been made known to them. On the second day, the heads of the ancestral families of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to gain insight into the words of the law. They found written in the law that the LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites were to live in booths during the festival in the seventh month, and that they were to announce and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hill country and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” So the people went out, brought the branches, and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, in the square at the Water Gate, and in the square at the Ephraim Gate. The whole assembly of those who had returned from captivity made booths and lived in them. From the days of Jeshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not done so. And there was very great joy. Day after day, from the first day to the last, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.

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