Nehemiah

Reading of the Law

In the seventh month, everyone gathered as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel.

Ezra brought the law before the assembly, men, women, and all the children who could understand what was being read. It was the first day of the seventh month.

So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon, before the men, women, and those children who could understand. All the people were eager to hear the book of the law.

Ezra, the law teacher, stood on a wooden platform built for that occasion. To his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hasbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was in a higher place; when he opened it, all the people stood.

Ezra praised the Lord the great God, and all the people lifted their hands and answered, “Amen! Amen!” And they bowed their heads to the ground.

The Levites Joshua, Bani, and the rest of their brothers explained the law to the standing people.

They read from the book of the law of God, clarifying and interpreting the meaning so that everyone might understand what they were hearing.

Then Ezra, the law teacher, said to the people: “This day is dedicated to the Lord, your God, so do not be sad or weep.” He said this because all wept when they heard the law reading.

Then he told them:“Go and eat rich foods, drink sweet wine, and share with him who has nothing prepared. This day is dedicated to the Lord, so do not be sad. The joy of the Lord is our strength.”

The Levites also calmed the people, saying: “Do not weep. This day is a festival day. Do not be sad.”

And the people went their way to eat, drink, and share, and they had a great feast because they had understood the words that had been proclaimed to them.

The Feast of Tabernacles

On the second day, the heads of the families, the priests, and the Levites came together to Ezra, the teacher of the law, to learn the law.

There, they read that the Lord had commanded the children of Israel to dwell in huts during the feast of the seventh month.

They proclaimed in all the cities and Jerusalem: “Go to the mountains and bring branches of olive, pine, myrtle, palm, and any leafy tree to build huts according to what is commanded.”

The people went out and brought branches and built huts for themselves on the roofs of their houses, in their yards, the courtyards of the house of the Lord, or the square at the Water Gate, or the square at the Gate of Ephraim.

The whole assembly of those who had returned from exile built huts and dwelt in them, a thing the Israelites had not done since the days of Joshua, son of Nun. And there was great rejoicing.

They read the book of the law of God daily from the first day to the last day of the feast. The feast lasted seven days as prescribed, and a solemn assembly was on the eighth day.