^7:73The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all the rest of Israel lived in their cities.

The People Respond to the Reading of the Law

When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites³⁰ were settled in their cities,³¹^8:1all the people gathered together¹ in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked² Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel. ^8:2So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.) ^8:3So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon³ before the men and women and those children who could understand.⁴ All the people were eager to hear⁵ the book of the law.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

30 Heb “the sons of Israel.” So also in vv. 14, 17; 9:1.
31 The traditional understanding of the chapter and verse division here is probably incorrect. The final part of v. 73 is best understood as belonging with 8:1.
1 Heb “like one man.”
2 Heb “said [to].”
3 Heb “from the light till the noon of the day.”
4 Heb “all who could hear with understanding.” The word “children” is understood to be implied here by a number of English versions (e.g., , , ).
5 Heb “the ears of all the people were toward.”