Nehemiah 8:1-8
Ezra Reads the Law
1And all the people gathered as one man into the square before athe Water Gate. And they told bEzra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 2So Ezra the priest cbrought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, don the first day of the seventh month. 3 eAnd he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, f“Amen, Amen,” glifting up their hands. hAnd they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 iAlso Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, ▼▼Vulgate; Hebrew and the Levites
khelped the people to understand the Law, lwhile the people remained in their places. 8They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, ▼▼Or with interpretation, or paragraph by paragraph
and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
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