Ezra Reads the Law
And all the people gathered as one man to the square that is before the Water Gate; and they said to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the instruction of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel.
And Ezra the priest brought the instruction before the assembly, from man to woman, and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.
And he read from it before the square that is before the Water Gate, from the light until the middle of the day, in front of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were toward the book of the instruction.
And Ezra the scribe stood on a tower of wood that they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Uriah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and on his left, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam.
And Ezra opened the book before the eyes of all the people — for he was above all the people — and when he opened it, all the people stood.
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God; and all the people answered, “Amen, amen,” with the lifting of their hands. And they bowed down and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
And Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah — and the Levites — were making the people understand the instruction; and the people were in their place.
And they read in the book, in the instruction of God, making it clear; and they set the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
And Nehemiah — he is the Tirshatha — and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who were making the people understand, said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn, and do not weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the instruction.
And he said to them, “Go, eat the fat things, and drink the sweet things, and send portions to the one who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your stronghold.”
And the Levites were quieting all the people, saying, “Hush — for this day is holy; and do not be grieved.”
And all the people went to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing — because they had understood the words that had been made known to them.
The Feast of Tabernacles
And on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, the priests and the Levites, gathered to Ezra the scribe, to gain insight into the words of the instruction.
And they found written in the instruction, which the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the sons of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast in the seventh month;
and that they should proclaim and pass a voice through all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying: “Go out to the hill country, and bring leaves of olive, and leaves of oil trees, and leaves of myrtle, and leaves of palms, and leaves of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”
And the people went out and brought them, and made themselves booths — each on his own roof, and in their courtyards, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square of the Water Gate, and in the square of the Gate of Ephraim.
And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths — for the sons of Israel had not done so since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun until that day. And there was very great rejoicing.
And he read in the book of the instruction of God day by day, from the first day to the last day. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day, a solemn assembly, according to the judgment.