Nehemiah 8
8
Nehemiah 8
1¶ And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the plaza that was before the water gate, and they spoke unto Ezra, the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
2And Ezra, the priest, brought the law before the congregation, both of men and women and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
3And he read in the book before the plaza that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
4And Ezra, the scribe, stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchiah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people), and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
6and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands; and they humbled themselves and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7And Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, Levites, caused the people to be silent that they might understand the law; and the people were in their place.
8So they read in the book in the law of God clearly and paid attention, and understood the reading.
9¶ And Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites that caused the people to be attentive, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
10Then he said unto them, Go, eat the fat, and drink sweet wine, and send portions unto those who have nothing prepared; for this day is holy unto our Lord, and not sad; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
11So the Levites caused all the people to be silent, saying, Be silent, for the day is holy; neither be ye sad.
12And all the people went to eat and to drink and to send portions and to rejoice with great joy because they had understood the words that were taught unto them.
13¶ And on the next day the princes of the families of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered together unto Ezra, the scribe, to understand the words of the law.
14And they found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the sons of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month
15and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount and bring olive branches and pine branches and myrtle branches and palm branches and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
16So the people went forth and brought them and made themselves booths, each one upon the roof of his house and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God and in the plaza of the water gate and in the plaza of the gate of Ephraim.
17And all the congregation of those that returned out of the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths, for since the days of Jeshua, the son of Nun, unto that day, the sons of Israel had not done so. And there was very great joy.
18And Ezra read in the book of the law of God each day, from the first day unto the last day. And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.
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Nehemiah 8: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Nehemiah 8
8
Ezra Reads the Law
1So all the Israelites met together in the seventh month of the year. They were united and in complete agreement. They all met together in the open place in front of the Water Gate. All the people asked Ezra the teacher to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given to the Israelites. 2So Ezra the priest brought the law before those who had met together. This was on the first day of the month.#8:2 first day of the month This was a special day of worship. The people met together and shared a fellowship meal. It was the seventh month of the year. Men, women, and anyone old enough to listen and understand were at the meeting. 3Ezra read in a loud voice from the Book of the Law from early morning until noon. He was facing the open place that was in front of the Water Gate. He read to all the men and women, and to everyone old enough to listen and understand. All the people listened carefully and paid attention to the Book of the Law.
4Ezra stood on a high wooden stage. It had been built just for this special time. On his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. And on his left side stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5So Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them on the high stage. As he opened the Book of the Law, all the people stood up. 6Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people held up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then all the people bowed down and put their faces low to the ground and they worshiped the Lord.
7These men from the tribe of Levi taught the people about the law as they were all standing there. The Levites were Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah. 8They read the Book of the Law of God. They made it easy to understand, and explained what it meant. They did this so that the people could understand what was being read.
9Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who were teaching the people spoke. They said, “Today is a special day#8:9 special day The first and second days of each month were special days of worship. The people met together and shared a fellowship meal. to the Lord your God. Don’t be sad and cry.” They said that because all the people had begun to cry as they were listening to the messages of God in the law.
10Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy the good food and sweet drinks. Give some food and drinks to those who didn’t prepare any food. Today is a special day to our Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of the Lord will make you strong.”
11The Levites helped the people to calm down. They said, “Be quiet, calm down, this is a special day. Don’t be sad.”
12Then all the people went to eat the special meal. They shared their food and drinks. They celebrated that special day. They were happy that they could hear the reading of God’s law and were now able to understand it.
13Then on the second day of the month,#8:13 second day of the month The first and second days of each month were special days of worship. The people met together and shared a fellowship meal. the leaders of all the families went to meet with Ezra, the priests, and the Levites. They all gathered around Ezra the teacher to study the words of the law.
14-15They studied and found these commands in the law. The Lord gave this command to the people through Moses: In the seventh month of the year, the Israelites must go to Jerusalem to celebrate a special festival. They must live in temporary shelters. And the people are supposed to go through all of their towns and Jerusalem and say this: “Go out into the hill country and get branches from different kinds of olive trees. Get branches from myrtle trees, palm trees, and shade trees. Use the branches to make temporary shelters. Do what the law says.”
16So the people went out and got tree branches. Then they built temporary shelters for themselves. They built shelters on their own roofs and in their own yards. And they built shelters in the Temple yard, in the open place near the Water Gate, and near Ephraim Gate. 17The whole group that had come back from captivity built shelters. They lived in the shelters they had built. Since the days of Joshua son of Nun up until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated the Festival of Shelters like this. Everyone was very happy!
18Ezra read to them from the Book of the Law every day of the festival from the first day of the festival to the last day. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days. Then on the eighth day, the people met together for a special meeting, as the law says.
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