Ezra reads the book_of_the_laws to the people
1All the people came together at the open place in front of the Water Gate. They told the secretary Ezra to bring the book with the laws of Moses, the laws that God had given to the Israelites. 2So the priest Ezra brought the book_of_the_laws to all the people. Men and women and all the children who could understand were there. This was on the first day of the 7th month. 3Ezra read to the people standing in front of the Water Gate, to the men and women and to everyone who could understand. He read from early in the morning to noon. All the people listened carefully to what was written in the book. 4The secretary Ezra was standing on a high wooden stage so that everyone could see and hear him. Next to him on his right hand side were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah. On his left hand side were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hash-Baddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. 5All the people saw when Ezra opened the book. He stood high above them and when he opened the book, all the people stood up.
6Ezra praised the Lord, the Great God. Then all the people said: ‘Amen’ and they lifted up their hands. Then they bowed down with their faces to the ground. They lay down to worship the Lord. 7The Levites, Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah explained the laws to the people while they were standing there. 8The Levites read from the book. They read the laws of God and they explained to everyone what the laws meant so that they could understand it.
9When the people heard what the laws said, they all started to cry. Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra, the priest and secretary, and the Levites who explained the laws to the people, said: ‘This day is a holy day for the Lord your God. Don't cry or mourn.’
10Nehemiah told the people to eat special food and to drink sweet drinks. He told the people to give food and something to drink to the people who did not have any. He told the people not to be sad because God was pleased with them. 11The Levites told the people that they must be quiet and not be sad, because it was a holy day. 12When the people went home, they celebrated by eating and drinking and they gave food to the people who did not have any. It was a great feast because the people understood what Ezra had read to them from the laws.
The Feast_of_shelters
13The next day, the 2nd day of the month, all the family leaders and the priests and Levites came together with the secretary, Ezra, to learn what the laws said. 14They read that the Lord had told Moses to write in the laws that the people of Israel must stay in shelters while they celebrate the feast in the 7th month. 15They also read that they must tell everyone in the towns and in Jerusalem that they must go to the mountains and bring back branches of olive trees, palm trees and other trees with leaves, and make shelters to live in as the laws said.
16The people went and they brought branches and made shelters on the roofs of their houses, on the open places near their homes and at the temple, at the Water Gate and at the Ephraim Gate. 17Everyone who had come back from Babylon where they were prisoners made shelters and they stayed in them. This was the first time that the Israelites had done this again since the time of Joshua, son of Nun. Everyone was very happy. 18From the first day of the feast until the last day, Ezra read from the book_of_the_laws of God. Everyone celebrated the feast for 7 days and on the 8th day the people of God came together to celebrate a holy feast and to worship Him as the laws said.
