Nehemia 8:1

8:1 all the people gathered together ¹  in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked ²  Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel.

Nehemia 8:4

8:4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform ³  constructed for this purpose. Standing near him on his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Masseiah. On his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Nehemia 8:9

8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, ⁴  Ezra the priestly scribe, ⁵  and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, ⁶  “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law.

Nehemia 8:13

8:13 On the second day of the month the family leaders ⁷  met with ⁸  Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law.

[8:1]  ¹ tn Heb “like one man.”

[8:1]  ² tn Heb “said [to].”

[8:4]  ³ tn Heb “a tower of wood.”

[8:9]  ⁴ tc The unexpected reference to Nehemiah here has led some scholars to suspect that the phrase “Nehemiah the governor” is a later addition to the text and not original.

[8:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”

[8:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[8:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[8:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “were gathered to”; NAB, NIV “gathered around”; NRSV “came together to.”