1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
The people have now gathered together and asked to be taught about God and His will. This is the Ezra from the Book of Ezra.
2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
He was above the people because he was standing on the platform mentioned in verse four.
All the people stood up in reverence to hear the Word of God read.
6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
The people raised their hands in praise to God and then bowed down in worship.
7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
The Law was explained so the people could actually follow it.
These people actually stood the whole time the Law was being read. Makes me feel lazy. I would want to sit down, preferably in an nice comfy chair.
8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
9 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, “This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
They cried because they realized that they deserved even greater punishment than what God had already given their nation.
10 Then he said unto them, “Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Though it is a scary thing to contemplate how evil we have been, it is something worth celebrating to think about God’s love and mercy.
11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.”
12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
They can celebrate because they now know enough to begin to live a life pleasing to God. He has given their nation another chance.
13 And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
14 And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:
The Feast of Tabernacles, which happened at the end of September.
Booths are tents. They were commanded to go camping once a year in order to remember the time of travel from Egypt to Canaan’s land.
I can tell you from personal experience that a week’s camping trip every year makes me REALLY appreciate my house! I love camping, but my tiny house seems so huge and beautiful after a week of roughing it. Maybe, in part, God had in mind keeping the people thankful for their nice homes by instituting this feast.
15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
They did their camping in tents made of plant branches. These would actually make cooler tents than our modern plastic ones, not that they had a lot of choice.
16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.
Many homes in this region had decks on the roofs for enjoying the cool evenings and escaping the heat of the house. So some people camped on their roof, some in their yard, some at the Temple, some in the streets.
17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.
Though they were camping in the city, they had a fun time.
18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
The day’s activities for the whole week was listening to Ezra read the Bible and tell them about God and how to live a righteous life.