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The Blue Letter Bible

Nehemiah 8 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Ezra Reads the Law

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:1

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:1 - [fn]all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had given for Israel to obey.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:2

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:2 - So on October 8[fn] Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:3

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:3 - He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:4

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:4 - Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:5

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:5 - Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:6

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:6 - Then Ezra praised the LORD, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:7

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:7 - The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:8

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:8 - They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:9

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:9 - Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the LORD your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:10

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:10 - And Nehemiah[fn] continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!”

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:11

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:11 - And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:12

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:12 - So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.
The Festival of Shelters
(cf. Lev 23:33–43 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:13

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:13 - On October 9[fn] 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:14

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:14 - 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.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:15

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:15 - 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,[fn] 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:16

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:16 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:17

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:17 - 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[fn] son of Nun.

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Unchecked Copy Box Neh 8:18

Unchecked Copy BoxNeh 8:18 - 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.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew on the first day of the seventh month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was October 8, 445 B.C.; also see note on 1:1.
Hebrew he.
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.
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.
Or pine; Hebrew reads oil tree.
Hebrew Jeshua, a variant spelling of Joshua.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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Nehemiah Chapter 8 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras