Nehemiah 8–10: The Reading, the Long Confession, and the Signed Covenant

Scripture: Berean Standard Bible

At that time all the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could listen and understand. So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand.

And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for this occasion. At his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and at his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was standing above them all, and as he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and with their hands uplifted, all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places. So they read from the Book of the Law of God, explaining it and giving insight, so that the people could understand what was being read.

Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.”

For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law.

Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

And the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”

Then all the people began to eat and drink, to send out portions, and to rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that had been made known to them.

On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to study the words of the Law. And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.

So they proclaimed this message and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”

And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the court of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim. The whole assembly who had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this. And there was great rejoicing.

Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. The Israelites kept the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly, according to the ordinance.

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.

And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God. Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting:

Blessed be your glorious name,and may it be exaltedabove all blessing and praise.You alone are the LORD.You created the heavens,the highest heavens with all their host,the earth and all that is on it,the seas and all that is in them.You give life to all things,and the host of heaven worships you.

You are the LORD,the God who chose Abram,who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeansand gave him the name Abraham.You found his heart faithful before you,and made a covenant with himto give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites,of the Amorites and Perizzites,of the Jebusites and Girgashites—to give it to his descendants.You have kept your promise,because you are righteous.

You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt;you heard their cry at the Red Sea.You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,all his officials, and all the people of his land,for you knew they had acted with arroganceagainst our fathers.You made a name for yourselfthat endures to this day.You divided the sea before them,and they crossed through it on dry ground.You hurled their pursuers into the depthslike a stone into raging waters.

You led them with a pillar of cloud by dayand a pillar of fire by night,to light for them the wayin which they should travel.You came down on Mount Sinaiand spoke with them from heaven.You gave them just ordinances, true laws,and good statutes and commandments.You revealed to them your holy Sabbathand gave them commandments and statutes and lawsthrough your servant Moses.In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven;in their thirst you brought them water from the rock.You told them to go in and possess the landwhich you had sworn to give them.

But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-neckedand did not obey your commandments.They refused to listen and failed to rememberthe wonders you performed among them.They stiffened their necks and appointed a leaderto return them to their bondage in Egypt.But you are a forgiving God,gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and rich in loving devotion,and you did not forsake them.

Even when they cast for themselvesan image of a calf and said,‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’and when they committed terrible blasphemies,you in your great compassiondid not forsake them in the wilderness.By day the pillar of cloud never turned awayfrom guiding them on their path;and by the night the pillar of fireilluminated the way they should go.You gave your good Spirit to instruct them.You did not withhold your manna from their mouths,and you gave them water for their thirst.For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness,so that they lacked nothing.Their clothes did not wear outand their feet did not swell.

You gave them kingdoms and peoplesand allotted to them every corner of the land.So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbonand of Og king of Bashan.You multiplied their descendantslike the stars of heavenand brought them to the landyou had told their fathers to enter and possess.So their descendants went in and possessed the land;you subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land.You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land,to do with them as they wished.They captured fortified cities and fertile landand took houses full of all goods,wells already dug,vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance.So they ate and were filled;they grew fat and delighted in your great goodness.

But they were disobedient and rebelled against you;they flung your law behind their backs.They killed your prophets,who had admonished them to return to you.They committed terrible blasphemies.So you delivered them into the handsof enemies who oppressed them,and in their time of distress they cried out to you.From heaven you heard them,and in your great compassion you gave them delivererswho saved them from the hands of their enemies.But as soon as they had rest,they again did evil in your sight.So you abandoned them to the hands of their enemies,who had dominion over them.When they cried out to you again,you heard from heaven,and you delivered them many timesin your compassion.

You admonished them to turn back to your law,but they were arrogant and disobeyed your commandments.They sinned against your ordinances,by which a man will live if he practices them.They stubbornly shrugged their shoulders;they stiffened their necks and would not obey.You were patient with them for many years,and your Spirit admonished them through your prophets.Yet they would not listen,so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.But in your great compassion,you did not put an end to them;nor did you forsake them,for you are a gracious and compassionate God.

So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome Godwho keeps his gracious covenant,do not view lightly all the hardshipthat has come upon us,and upon our kings and leaders,our priests and prophets,our ancestors and all your people,from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.You are just in all that has befallen us,because you have acted faithfully,while we have acted wickedly.Our kings and leaders and priests and fathersdid not obey your lawor listen to your commandmentsand warnings that you gave them.For even while they were in their kingdom,with the abundant goodnessthat you had given them,and in the spacious and fertile landthat you had set before them,they would not serve youor turn from their wicked ways.

So here we are today as slavesin the land you gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness—here we are as slaves!Its abundant harvest goes to the kingsyou have set over us because of our sins.And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please.We are in great distress.

In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”

Now these were the ones who sealed the document:

Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.

The Levites:

Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, and their associates: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.

And the leaders of the people:

Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

“The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the people of the land to obey the Law of God—along with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand, hereby join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the Law of God given through his servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commandments, ordinances, and statutes of the LORD our Lord.

We will not give our daughters in marriage to the people of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons.

When the people of the land bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on a Sabbath or holy day. Every seventh year we will let the fields lie fallow, and will cancel every debt.

We also place ourselves under the obligation to contribute a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God: for the showbread, for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings, for the Sabbath offerings, for the New Moons and appointed feasts, for the holy offerings, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the duties of the house of our God.

We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our families at the appointed times each year. They are to bring it to the house of our God to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law.

We will also bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the house of the LORD year by year. And we will bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as it is written in the Law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God.

Moreover, we will bring to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God the firstfruits of our dough, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and oil. A tenth of our produce belongs to the Levites, so that they shall receive tithes in all the towns where we labor. A priest of Aaron’s line is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of these tithes to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God. For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay.

Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”