Nehemiah 8-10

Complete Jewish Bible

8 all the people gathered with one accord in the open space in front of the Water Gate and asked ‘Ezra the Torah-teacher to bring the scroll of the Torah of Moshe, which Adonai had commanded Isra’el. ²‘Ezra the cohen brought the Torah before the assembly, which consisted of men, women and all children old enough to understand. It was the first day of the seventh month. ³Facing the open space in front of the Water Gate, he read from it to the men, the women and the children who could understand from early morning until noon; and all the people listened attentively to the scroll of the Torah. ⁴‘Ezra the Torah-teacher stood on a wood platform which they had made for the purpose; beside him on his right stood Mattityah, Shema, ‘Anayah, Uriyah, Hilkiyah and Ma‘aseiyah; while on his left were P’dayah, Misha’el, Malkiyah, Hashum, Hashbadanah, Z’kharyah and Meshulam. ⁵‘Ezra opened the scroll where all the people could see him, because he was higher than all the people; when he opened it, all the people rose to their feet. ⁶‘Ezra blessed Adonai, the great God; and all the people answered, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted up their hands, bowed their heads and fell prostrate before Adonai with their faces to the ground. ⁷The L’vi’im Yeshua, Bani, Sherevyah, Yamin, ‘Akuv, Shabtai, Hodiyah, Ma‘aseiyah, K’lita, ‘Azaryah, Yozavad, Hanan and P’layah explained the Torah to the people, while the people remained in their places. ⁸They read clearly from the scroll, in the Torah of God, translated it, and enabled them to understand the sense of what was being read.

⁹Nechemyah the Tirshata, ‘Ezra the cohen and Torah-teacher and the L’vi’im who taught the people said to all the people, “Today is consecrated to Adonai your God; don’t be mournful, don’t weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the Torah. ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go, eat rich food, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who can’t provide for themselves; for today is consecrated to our Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of Adonai is your strength.” ¹¹In this way the L’vi’im quieted the people, as they said, “Be quiet, for today is holy; don’t be sad.” ¹²Then the people went off to eat, drink, send portions and celebrate; because they had understood the words that had been proclaimed to them.

¹³On the second day, the heads of fathers’ clans of all the people assembled with the cohanim and L’vi’im before ‘Ezra the Torah-teacher to study the words of the Torah. ¹⁴They found written in the Torah that Adonai had ordered through Moshe that the people of Isra’el were to live in sukkot during the feast of the seventh month; ¹⁵and that they were to announce and pass the word in all their cities and in Yerushalayim, “Go out to the mountains, and collect branches of olives, wild olives, myrtles, palms, and other leafy trees to make sukkot, as prescribed.” ¹⁶So the people went out, brought them and made sukkot for themselves, each one on the roof of his house, also in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the open space by the Water Gate and in the open space by the Efrayim Gate. ¹⁷The entire community of those who had returned from the exile made sukkot and lived in the sukkot, for the people of Isra’el had not done this since the days of Yeshua the son of Nun. So there was very great joy. ¹⁸Also they read every day, from the first day until the last day, in the scroll of the Torah of God. They kept the feast for seven days; then on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

9 On the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Isra’el, wearing sackcloth and with dirt on them, assembled for a fast. ²Those descended from Isra’el separated themselves from all foreigners; then they stood up and confessed their own sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. ³Standing where they were, they read in the scroll of the Torah of Adonai their God for one-quarter of the day. For another quarter they confessed and prostrated themselves before Adonai their God. ⁴On the platform of the L’vi’im stood Yeshua, Bani, Kadmi’el, Sh’vanyah, Buni, Sherevyah, Bani and K’nani; they cried out loudly to Adonai their God. ⁵Then the L’vi’im Yeshua, Kadmi’el, Bani, Hashavn’yah, Sherevyah, Hodiyah, Sh’vanyah and P’tachyah said, “Stand up, and bless Adonai your God from everlasting to everlasting; let them say:

“‘Blessed be your glorious name,
exalted above all blessing and praise!

⁶“‘You are Adonai, you alone.
You made heaven,
the heaven of heavens, with all their array,
the earth and all the things that are in it,
the seas and all that is in them;
and you preserve them all.
The army of heaven worships you.

⁷“‘You are Adonai, the God who chose Avram,
brought him out of Ur-Kasdim
and gave him the name of Avraham.
⁸Finding that he was faithful to you,
you made a covenant with him
to give the land of the Kena‘ani,
the Hitti, Emori and P’rizi,
the Y’vusi and the Girgashi,
to give it to his descendants;
and you have done what you promised,
because you are just.

⁹“‘You saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt
and heard their cry by the Sea of Suf.
¹⁰You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
against all his servants and the people of the land;
for you knew how arrogantly they treated them;
and you won yourself a name which is yours to this day.
¹¹You divided the sea ahead of them,
so that they could pass through the sea on dry land;
then you hurled their pursuers into the depths,
like a stone into turbulent waters.

¹²“‘In a column of cloud you led them by day,
and by night in a column of fire,
so that they would have light ahead of them
on the way that they were to go.

¹³“‘You descended on Mount Sinai
and spoke with them from heaven.
You gave them right rulings and true teachings,
good laws and mitzvot.
¹⁴You revealed to them your holy Shabbat
and gave them mitzvot, laws and the Torah
through Moshe your servant.

¹⁵“‘For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven;
for their thirst you brought forth for them water from the rock.
You ordered them to enter and possess the land
you had sworn with your hand to give them.

¹⁶“‘But they and our ancestors were arrogant;
they stiffened their necks and ignored your mitzvot;
¹⁷they refused to listen and paid no attention
to the wonders you had done among them.
No, they stiffened their necks, and in their rebellion
appointed a leader to return them to their slavery.
But because you are a God of forgiveness,
merciful, full of compassion,
slow to grow angry and full of grace,
you did not abandon them.
¹⁸Even when they cast themselves a metal calf,
saying of it, “This is your god
that brought you up from Egypt,”
and committing other gross provocations;
¹⁹still, you, in your great compassion,
did not abandon them in the desert.
The column of cloud did not leave them by day;
it kept leading them along the way.
By night the column of fire
kept showing them light and the path to take.
²⁰You also gave your good Spirit to teach them,
did not withhold man from their mouths
and provided them water to quench their thirst.
²¹Yes, forty years you sustained them in the desert;
they lacked nothing —
their clothes did not wear out;
their feet did not swell up.

²²“‘You gave them kingdoms and peoples;
you even gave them extra land,
so that they took possession of the land of Sichon,
also the land of the king of Heshbon
and the land of ‘Og king of Bashan.
²³You made their children as numerous
as the countless stars in the sky.

“‘Then you brought them into the land
about which you had said to their fathers
that they should go in and take possession of it.
²⁴So the children went in and possessed the land,
as you subdued ahead of them
the Kena‘ani living in the land,
and handed them over to them,
along with their kings and the peoples of the land,
for them to do with as they wished.
²⁵They took fortified cities and fertile land,
possessed houses full of all kinds of good things,
dug-out cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,
fruit trees in plenty;
so they ate their fill and grew robust,
luxuriating in your great goodness.

²⁶“‘Yet they disobeyed and rebelled against you,
throwing your Torah behind their backs.
They killed your prophets for warning them
that they should return to you
and committed other gross provocations.
²⁷So you handed them over to the power
of their adversaries, who oppressed them.
Yet in the time of their trouble,
when they cried out to you,
you heard from heaven, and in keeping
with your great compassion,
you gave them saviors to save them
from the power of their adversaries.
²⁸But as soon as they had gotten some relief,
they went back to do evil before you.
So you left them in the power of their enemies,
who came down hard on them.
Yet when they returned and cried out to you,
you heard from heaven many times
and saved them, according to your compassion.
²⁹You warned them, in order to bring them back
to your Torah; yet they were arrogant.
They paid no attention to your mitzvot,
but sinned against your rulings,
which, if a person does them,
he will have life through them.
However, they stubbornly turned their shoulders,
stiffened their necks and refused to hear.
³⁰Many years you extended them mercy
and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets;
yet they would not listen.
Therefore you handed them over
to the peoples of the lands.
³¹Even so, in your great compassion,
you didn’t completely destroy them;
nor did you abandon them,
for you are a compassionate and merciful God.

³²“‘Now therefore, our God,
great, mighty, fearsome God,
who keeps both covenant and grace:
let not all this suffering seem little to you
that has come on us, our kings, our leaders,
our cohanim, our prophets, our ancestors,
and on all your people,
from the times of the kings of Ashur
until this very day.
³³There is no question that you are just
in all that has come upon us;
for you have treated us fairly.
It is we who have acted wickedly.
³⁴Our kings, our leaders, our cohanim and ancestors
did not keep your Torah,
pay attention to your mitzvot
or heed the warnings you gave them.
³⁵Even when they ruled their own kingdom,
even when you prospered them greatly,
in the great, rich land you gave them,
they did not serve you;
nor did they turn from their wicked deeds.

³⁶“‘So here we are today, slaves.
Yes, in the land you gave our ancestors,
so that they could eat what it produces
and enjoy its good —
here we are in it, slaves!
³⁷Its rich yield now goes to the kings
you have set over us because of our sins;
they have power over our bodies,
they can do what they please to our livestock,
and we are in great distress!

10 ^(9:38)“‘In view of all this, we are making a binding covenant, putting it in writing and having it sealed by our leaders, our L’vi’im and our cohanim.’”

²⁽¹⁾On the sealed document were the names of: Nechemyah the Tirshata the son of Hakhalyah, Tzedekyah, ³⁽²⁾S’rayah, ‘Azaryah, Yirmeyah, ⁴⁽³⁾Pash’chur, Amaryah, Malkiyah, ⁵⁽⁴⁾Hatush, Sh’vanyah, Malukh, ⁶⁽⁵⁾Harim, M’remot, ‘Ovadyah, ⁷⁽⁶⁾Dani’el, Ginton, Barukh, ⁸⁽⁷⁾Meshulam, Aviyah, Miyamin, ⁹⁽⁸⁾Ma‘azyah, Bilgai and Sh’ma‘yah. These were the cohanim.

¹⁰⁽⁹⁾The L’vi’im were: Yeshua the son of Azanyah, Binui a descendant of Henadad, Kadmi’el, ¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾and their kinsmen Sh’vanyah, Hodiyah, K’lita, P’layah, Hanan, ¹²⁽¹¹⁾Mikha, Rechov, Hashavyah, ¹³⁽¹²⁾Zakur, Sherevyah, Sh’vanyah, ¹⁴⁽¹³⁾Hodiyah, Bani and B’ninu.

¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾The leaders of the people: Par‘osh, Pachat-Mo’av, ‘Eilam, Zatu, Bani, ¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾Buni, ‘Azgad, B’vai, ¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾Adoniyah, Bigvai, ‘Adin, ¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾Ater, Hizkiyah, ‘Azur, ¹⁹⁽¹⁸⁾Hodiyah, Hashum, Betzai, ²⁰⁽¹⁹⁾Harif, ‘Anatot, Neivai, ²¹⁽²⁰⁾Magpi‘ash, Meshulam, Hezir, ²²⁽²¹⁾Mesheizav’el, Tzadok, Yadua, ²³⁽²²⁾P’latyah, Hanan, ‘Anayah, ²⁴⁽²³⁾Hoshea, Hananyah, Hashuv, ²⁵⁽²⁴⁾HaLochesh, Pilcha, Shovek, ²⁶⁽²⁵⁾Rechum, Hashavnah, Ma‘aseiyah, ²⁷⁽²⁶⁾Achiyah, Hanan, ‘Anan, ²⁸⁽²⁷⁾Malukh, Harim and Ba‘anah.

²⁹⁽²⁸⁾The rest of the people, the cohanim, the L’vi’im, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Torah of God, along with their wives, sons and daughters, everyone capable of knowing and understanding, ³⁰⁽²⁹⁾joined their kinsmen and their leaders in swearing an oath, accompanied by a curse [in case of noncompliance], as follows:

“We will live by God’s Torah, given by Moshe the servant of God, and will perform and obey all the mitzvot, rulings and laws of Adonai our Lord.

³¹⁽³⁰⁾“We will not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land or take their daughters as wives for our sons.

³²⁽³¹⁾“If the peoples of the lands bring merchandise or food to sell on Shabbat, we will not buy from them on Shabbat or on a holy day.

“We will forego [planting and harvesting our fields] during the seventh year and collecting debts then.

³³⁽³²⁾“We will impose on ourselves a yearly tax of one-third of a shekel [one-seventh of an ounce of silver] for the service of the house of our God, ³⁴⁽³³⁾for the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the regular burnt offering, for [the offerings] on Shabbat, on Rosh-Hodesh, at the designated times and at other holy times, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Isra’el, and for all the work connected with the house of our God.

³⁵⁽³⁴⁾“We, the cohanim, the L’vi’im and the people, will cast lots in connection with the wood offering, so that it will be brought to the house of our God according to our fathers’ clans, at specified times, year by year, and then be burned on the altar of Adonai our God, as prescribed in the Torah.

³⁶⁽³⁵⁾“Every year we will bring the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of all fruit from every kind of tree to the house of Adonai. ³⁷⁽³⁶⁾“We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and of our livestock, as prescribed in the Torah, and the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to the house of our God, to the cohanim ministering in the house of our God.

³⁸⁽³⁷⁾“We will bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every kind of tree, wine and olive oil to the cohanim in the storerooms of the house of our God, along with the tenths from our land for the L’vi’im; since they, the L’vi’im, take the tenths in all the cities where we farm. ³⁹⁽³⁸⁾The cohen the descendant of Aharon is to be with the L’vi’im when the L’vi’im take tenths. The L’vi’im will bring the tenth of the tenth to the house of our God, to the storerooms for supplies. ⁴⁰⁽³⁹⁾For the people of Isra’el and the descendants of Levi are to bring the contribution of grain, wine and olive oil to the rooms where the equipment for the sanctuary, the ministering cohanim, the gatekeepers and the singers are. We will not abandon the house of our God.”