< Nehemiah 8 >
1 And they gathered all the people like a person one to the open space which [was] before [the] gate of the water and they said to Ezra the scribe to bring [the] scroll of [the] law of Moses which he had commanded Yahweh Israel.
And when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their towns. And all the people came together like one man into the wide place in front of the water-doorway; and they made a request to Ezra the scribe that he would put before them the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel.
2 And he brought Ezra the priest the law before the assembly from man and unto woman and every [one who] understood to listen on day one of the month seventh.
And Ezra the priest put the law before the meeting of the people, before the men and women and all those who were able to take it in, on the first day of the seventh month.
3 And he read aloud in it before the open space which - [was] before [the] gate of the water from the light until [the] middle of the day before the men and the women and the [ones who] understood and [the] ears of all the people [were] to [the] scroll of the law.
He was reading it in the wide place in front of the water-doorway, from early morning till the middle of the day, in the hearing of all those men and women whose minds were able to take it in; and the ears of all the people were open to the book of the law.
4 And he stood Ezra the scribe on a high platform of wood which people had made for the matter and he stood beside him Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah on right [hand] his and from left his Pedaiah and Mishael and Malkijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah Zechariah Meshullam.
And Ezra the scribe took his place on a tower of wood which they had made for the purpose; and by his side were placed Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah on the right; and on the left, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
5 And he opened Ezra the scroll to [the] eyes of all the people for above all the people he was and just as opened [it] he they stood up all the people.
And Ezra took the book, opening it before the eyes of all the people (for he was higher than the people); and when it was open, all the people got to their feet:
6 And he blessed Ezra Yahweh God great and they answered all the people amen - amen in [the] raising of hands their and they bowed low and they bowed down to Yahweh face [the] ground towards.
And Ezra gave praise to the Lord, the great God. And all the people in answer said, So be it, so be it; lifting up their hands; and with bent heads they gave worship to the Lord, going down on their faces to the earth.
7 And Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah - Jamin Akkub Shabbethai - Hodiah Maaseiah Kelita Azariah Jozabad Hanan Pelaiah and the Levites [were] causing to understand the people the law and the people [were] at place their.
And Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah and Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites made the law clear to the people: and the people kept in their places.
8 And they read aloud in the scroll in [the] law of God making clear and they gave [the] sense and they understood the reading.
And they gave out the words of the book the law of God, clearly, and gave the sense of it, so that their minds were able to take it in.
9 And he said Nehemiah he [was] the governor and Ezra the priest - the scribe and the Levites who were causing to understand the people to all the people this day [is] holy it to Yahweh God your may not you mourn and may not you weep for [were] weeping all the people when heard they [the] words of the law.
And Nehemiah, who was the Tirshatha, and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were the teachers of the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God; let there be no sorrow or weeping; for all the people were weeping on hearing the words of the law.
10 And he said to them go eat fat foods and drink sweet things and send portions to [any whom] nothing [is] prepared for him for [is] holy this day to lord our and may not you be grieved for [the] joy of Yahweh it [is] refuge your.
Then he said to them, Go away now, and take the fat for your food and the sweet for your drink, and send some to him for whom nothing is made ready: for this day is holy to our Lord: and let there be no grief in your hearts; for the joy of the Lord is your strong place.
11 And the Levites [were] making quiet all the people saying hush! for this day [is] holy and may not you be grieved.
So the Levites made all the people quiet, saying, Be quiet, for the day is holy; and do not give way to grief.
12 And they went all the people to eat and to drink and to send portions and to make joy great for they had understood the words which they had made known to them.
And all the people went away to take food and drink, and to send food to others, and to be glad, because the words which were said to them had been made clear.
13 And on the day second they gathered [the] leaders of the fathers of all the people the priests and the Levites to Ezra the scribe and to gain insight into [the] words of the law.
And on the second day the heads of families of all the people and the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe, to give attention to the words of the law.
14 And they found written in the law which he had commanded Yahweh by [the] hand of Moses that they will dwell [the] people of Israel in booths at the festival in the month seventh.
And they saw that it was recorded in the law that the Lord had given orders by Moses, that the children of Israel were to have tents for their living-places in the feast of the seventh month:
15 And that they will make proclamation and they may cause to pass a proclamation in all cities their and in Jerusalem saying go out the hill country and bring leaves of olive and leaves of tree[s] of oil and leaves of myrtle and leaves of palm trees and leaves of tree[s] leafy to make booths according to [what] is written.
And that they were to give out an order, and make it public in all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the mountain and get olive branches and branches of field olives and of myrtle, and palm branches and branches of thick trees, to make tents, as it says in the book.
16 And they went out the people and they brought [leaves] and they made for themselves booths each one on own roof his and in courtyards their and in [the] courtyards of [the] house of God and in [the] open space of [the] gate of the water and in [the] open space of [the] gate of Ephraim.
And the people went out and got them and made themselves tents, every one on the roof of his house, and in the open spaces and in the open squares of the house of God, and in the wide place of the water-doorway, and the wide place of the doorway of Ephraim.
17 And they made all the assembly which had returned from the captivity - booths and they dwelt in the booths for not they had done since [the] days of Jeshua [the] son of Nun thus [the] people of Israel until the day that and it was joy great very.
All the people who had been prisoners and had come back, made tents and were living in them: for from the time of Jeshua, the son of Nun, till that day, the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great joy.
18 And he read aloud in [the] scroll of [the] law of God a day - in a day from the day first until the day last and they celebrated a festival seven days and on the day eighth an assembly according to the ordinance.
And day by day, from the first day till the last, he was reading from the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast for seven days: and on the eighth day there was a holy meeting, as it is ordered in the law.