Nehemiah 8-10
Easy-to-Read Version
Ezra Reads the Law
8 So 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. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before those who had met together. This was on the first day of the month.[a] It was the seventh month of the year. Men, women, and anyone old enough to listen and understand were at the meeting. 3 Ezra 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.
4 Ezra 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.
5 So 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. 6 Ezra 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.
7 These 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. 8 They 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.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who were teaching the people spoke. They said, “Today is a special day[b] 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.
10 Nehemiah 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.”
11 The Levites helped the people to calm down. They said, “Be quiet, calm down, this is a special day. Don’t be sad.”
12 Then 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.
13 Then on the second day of the month,[c] 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.
14-15 They 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.”
16 So 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. 17 The 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!
18 Ezra 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.
The People of Israel Confess Their Sins
9 Then on the 24th day of that same month, the Israelites gathered together for a day of fasting. They wore sackcloth and put ashes on their heads to show they were sad and upset. 2 Those people who were true Israelites separated themselves from foreigners. The Israelites stood and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 They stood there for about three hours, and the people read the Book of the Law of the Lord their God. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and bowed down to worship the Lord their God.
4 Then these Levites stood on the stairs: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani. They called out to the Lord their God with loud voices. 5 Then these Levites spoke again: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God! God has always lived and will live forever.
“People should praise your glorious name.
May your name be lifted above all blessing and praise.
6 You are God.
Lord, only you are God.
You made the sky and the highest heavens
and everything in them.
You made the earth
and everything on it.
You made the seas
and everything in them.
You give life to everything.
All the heavenly angels bow down and worship you.
7 You are the Lord,
the God who chose Abram.
You led him from Ur in Babylonia.
You changed his name to Abraham.
8 You saw he was true and loyal to you,
and you made an agreement with him.
You promised to give him the land
of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites.
But you promised to give that land to Abraham’s descendants.
And you kept your promise because you are good.
9 You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt
and heard them call for help by the Red Sea.
10 You showed the miracles to Pharaoh.
You did amazing things to his officials and his people.
You knew that the Egyptians thought
they were better than our ancestors.
But you proved how great you are,
and they remember that even today.
11 You split the Red Sea in front of them,
and they walked through on dry land.
The Egyptian soldiers were chasing them,
but you threw that enemy into the sea.
And they sank like a rock into the sea.
12 With the tall cloud, you led them by day,
and at night you used the column of fire.
That is the way you lit their path
and showed them where to go.
13 Then you came down to Mount Sinai.
You spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them good laws.
You gave them true teachings.
You gave them laws and commands that were very good.
14 You told them about your special day of rest—the Sabbath.
Through your servant Moses,
you gave them commands, laws, and teachings.
15 They were hungry,
so you gave them food from heaven.
They were thirsty,
so you gave them water from a rock.
You told them,
‘Come, take this land.’
You used your power,
and took the land for them.
16 But our ancestors became proud and stubborn.
They refused to obey your commands.
17 They refused to listen.
They forgot the amazing things you did with them.
They became stubborn.
They decided to return to Egypt and become slaves again.
“But you are a forgiving God!
You are kind and full of mercy.
You are patient and full of love.
So you didn’t leave them!
18 You didn’t leave them even when they made golden calves and said,
‘These are the gods that led us out of Egypt.’
19 You are very kind,
so you didn’t leave them in the desert.
You didn’t take the tall cloud
away from them by day.
You continued to lead them.
You didn’t take the column of fire
away from them at night.
You continued to light their path
and to show them which way to go.
20 You gave them your good Spirit to make them wise.
You gave them manna for food.
You gave them water for their thirst.
21 You took care of them for 40 years.
They had all they needed in the desert.
Their clothes didn’t wear out,
and their feet didn’t swell and hurt.
22 You gave them kingdoms and nations,
and you gave them faraway places where few people live.
They got the land of King Sihon of Heshbon.
They got the land of King Og of Bashan.
23 You made their descendants
as many as the stars in the sky.
You brought them to the land
you promised to give their ancestors.
They went in and took that land.
24 Their children took the land.
They defeated the Canaanites living there.
You let them defeat those people.
You let them do whatever they wanted
to those nations, people, and kings.
25 They defeated powerful cities.
They took the fertile land.
They got houses filled with good things.
They got wells that were already dug.
They got vineyards, olive trees, and plenty of fruit trees.
They ate until they were full and fat.
They enjoyed all the wonderful things you gave them.
26 And then they turned against you.
They threw away your teachings.
They killed your prophets.
Those prophets warned the people.
They tried to bring them back to you.
But our ancestors said terrible things against you.
27 So you let their enemies have them.
The enemy caused them much trouble.
When trouble came, our ancestors called to you for help.
And in heaven, you heard them.
You are very kind,
so you sent people to save them.
And they rescued them from their enemies.
28 Then as soon as our ancestors were rested,
they started doing terrible things again!
So you let the enemy defeat them
and punish them.
They called to you for help,
and in heaven you heard them and helped them.
You are so kind.
That happened so many times.
29 You warned them.
You told them to come back,
but they were too proud.
They refused to listen to your commands.
If people obey your laws, they will live.
But our ancestors broke your laws.
They were stubborn.
They turned their backs on you.
They refused to listen.
30 “You were very patient with our ancestors.
You let them mistreat you for many years.
You warned them with your Spirit.
You sent the prophets to warn them.
But our ancestors didn’t listen.
So you gave them to people in other countries.
31 “But you are so kind!
You didn’t completely destroy them.
You didn’t leave them.
You are such a kind and merciful God!
32 Our God, you are the great God,
the awesome, powerful soldier!
You are kind and loyal.
You keep your agreement.
We have had many troubles,
and our troubles are important to you.
Bad things happened to all our people,
and to our kings and leaders,
and to our priests and prophets.
Those terrible things have happened
from the days of the king of Assyria until today!
33 But God, you were right about everything that happened to us.
You were right, and we were wrong.
34 Our kings, leaders, priests, and fathers did not obey your law.
They didn’t listen to your commands.
They ignored your warnings.
35 Our ancestors didn’t serve you even when they were living in their own kingdom.
They didn’t stop doing evil.
They enjoyed all the wonderful things you gave them.
They enjoyed the rich land and had plenty of room,
but they didn’t stop their evil ways.
36 And now, we are slaves.
We are slaves in this land,
the land you gave our ancestors
so they could enjoy its fruit
and all the good things that grow here.
37 The harvest is big in this land.
But we sinned, so that harvest goes to the kings you put over us.
They control us and our cattle.
They do anything they want.
We are in a lot of trouble.
38 “Because of all these things, we are making an agreement that cannot be changed. We are putting this agreement in writing. Our leaders, Levites, and priests are signing their names to this agreement and sealing it with a seal.”
10 These are the names on the sealed agreement:
Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah. Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah, 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests who put their names on the sealed agreement.
9 And these are the Levites who put their names on the sealed agreement:
Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui from the family of Henadad, Kadmiel, 10 and their brothers: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
14 And these are the names of the leaders who put their names on the sealed agreement:
Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.
28-29 So all these people now make this special promise to God. And they all ask for bad things to happen if they don’t keep their promise. All these people promise to follow the law of God. That law of God was given to us through Moses his servant. These people promise with an oath to carefully obey all the commands, rules, and teachings of our Lord God. Now, these are the people who are making this promise: The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple servants, and all the Israelites who separated themselves from the people living around them. They have separated themselves to obey God’s law. Their wives, sons, and daughters who are able to listen and understand also did this. All these people joined their brothers and the important people to accept for themselves the promise to obey God’s law. And they accepted the curse that asks for bad things to happen to them if they don’t obey God’s law.
30 “We promise not to let our daughters marry the people living around us. And we promise not to let our sons marry their daughters.
31 “We promise not to work on the Sabbath day. If the people living around us bring grain or other things to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy them on that special day or on any other festival. Every seventh year,[d] we will not plant or work the land. And every seventh year, we will cancel every debt that other people owe to us.
32 “We will accept the responsibility for obeying the commands to take care of God’s Temple. We will give 1/3 shekel[e] of silver each year to support the Temple service to honor our God. 33 This money will pay for the special bread that the priests put on the table in the Temple. It will pay for the daily grain offerings and burnt offerings. It will pay for the offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moon celebrations, and other special meeting days. It will pay for the holy offerings and for the sin offerings that make the Israelites pure. It will pay for any work needed on the Temple of our God.
34 “We, the priests, the Levites, and the people have thrown lots to decide when each of our families is to bring a gift of wood to the Temple of our God at certain times each year. The wood is to burn on the altar of the Lord our God. We must do that just as it is written in the law.
35 “We also accept the responsibility of bringing the first part of our harvest, whether from the grain in our fields or the fruit from our trees. We will bring them to the Lord’s Temple each year.
36 “Just as it is also written in the law, this is what we will do: We will bring our firstborn sons and our firstborn cattle, sheep, and goats. We will bring these to the Temple of our God, to the priests who are serving there.
37 “And we will also bring the first part of our harvest to priests to put in the storage rooms of our God’s Temple. We will bring the first of our ground meal, the first of our grain offerings, the first fruit from our trees, and the first of our new wine and oil. And we will bring a tenth of our crops to the Levites, because they are the ones who collect these things in all the towns where we work. 38 A priest from the family of Aaron must be with the Levites when they receive the crops. Then the Levites must bring the crops to the Temple of our God and put them in the storerooms of the Temple treasury. 39 The Israelites and the Levites must bring their gifts to the storerooms. They are to bring their gifts of grain, new wine, and oil. All the things for the Temple are kept in the storerooms, and that is where the priests who are on duty stay. The singers and gatekeepers also stay there.
“We all promise that we will take care of the Temple of our God.”
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 8:2 first day of the month This was a special day of worship. The people met together and shared a fellowship meal.
- Nehemiah 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.
- Nehemiah 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.
- Nehemiah 10:31 seventh year See Ex. 23:10, 11.
- Nehemiah 10:32 1/3 shekel This was probably a coin at this time, but 1 shekel is 2/5 of an ounce (11.5 g).
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
