8 All the people gathered together in the plaza near the Water Gate and asked Ezra the scribe to bring the scroll with Yahweh’s instructions to Israel given through Mosheh (Moses). 2 So it was the beginning of October when Ezra the priest brought the scroll to the gathering of men and women and everyone who wanted to understand it, 3 and he read it aloud in the plaza near the Water Gate—reading from dawn until the middle of the day in front of those men and women and interested people, who all listened intently.

4 Ezra the scribe stood on a raised wooden platform that they had made especially for this purpose. Standing on his right were Mattitiah, Shema, Anayah, Uriyyah, Hilkiyyah, and Ma’aseyah, and on his left stood Pedayah, Misha’el, Malkiyyah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zecharyah, and Meshullam.

5 Up on the platform, Ezra opened the scroll in front of all the people, and as he did so, all the people stood up. 6 Ezra blessed the great God Yahweh and the people raised their arms and responded, “Amen. Amen.” Then they knelt down and bowed to Yahweh with their faces to the ground.

7 Then Yeshua, Bani, Shereveyah, Yamin, Akkub, Shabtai, Hodiyyah, Ma’aseyah, Kelita, Azaryah, Yozavad, Hanan, Pelayah, who were all Levites, explained what had been read to the people standing there. 8 They read the scroll containing God’s instructions, explaining how it applied so the people could understand it.

9 Then Nehemyah the governor and Ezra the priest & scribe, and the Levites who were explaining it, said to all the people, “Today is a sacred day—it belongs to your God Yahweh. Don’t mourn or weep.” That was because all the people were weeping after they heard Yahweh’s instructions to them. 10 Then Nehemyah told them, “Go home and eat some special food with sweet drink, and share some with those who can’t afford such things because today is a sacred day that belongs to our master. And don’t grieve, because the happiness from Yahweh will make you all strong.”

11 The Levites told the people to quieten down, saying, “Don’t grieve today because it’s a sacred day. Stay quiet.” 12 So all the people went to eat and drink and to take plates of food to others, and to have a big celebration because they understood what had been read to them.