31:9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all Israel’s elders. 31:10 He 1 commanded them: “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the cancellation of debts, 2 at the Feast of Temporary Shelters, 3 31:11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses, you must read this law before them 4 within their hearing. 31:12 Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law. 31:13 Then their children, who have not known this law, 5 will also hear about and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
34:1 Then Moses ascended from the deserts of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. 7 The Lord showed him the whole land – Gilead to Dan,
8:4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform 13 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. 8:5 Ezra opened the book in plain view 14 of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, 15 all the people stood up. 8:6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
8:7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah – all of whom were Levites 16 – were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing.
13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing 24 of the people. They found 25 written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,
1 tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּה (shÿmittah), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the procedure whereby debts of all fellow Israelites were to be canceled. Since the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated God’s own deliverance of and provision for his people, this was an appropriate time for Israelites to release one another. See note on this word at Deut 15:1.
3 tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] ([khag] hassukot, “[festival of] huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. See note on the name of the festival in Deut 16:13.
4 tn Heb “before all Israel.”
5 tn The phrase “this law” is not in the Hebrew text, but English style requires an object for the verb here. Other translations also supply the object which is otherwise implicit (cf. NIV “who do not know this law”; TEV “who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God”).
6 tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”
7 sn For the geography involved, see note on the term “Pisgah” in Deut 3:17.
8 tn Heb “like one man.”
9 tn Heb “said [to].”
10 tn Heb “from the light till the noon of the day.”
11 tn Heb “all who could hear with understanding.” The word “children” is understood to be implied here by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, TEV, NLT).
12 tn Heb “the ears of all the people were toward.”
13 tn Heb “a tower of wood.”
14 tn Heb “to the eyes.”
15 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the book) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tc The MT reads “and the Levites.” The conjunction (“and”) should be deleted, following the LXX, Aquila, and the Vulgate. That the vav (ו) of the MT is the vav explicativum (“even the Levites”) is unlikely here.
17 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
18 tn Heb “a voice.”
19 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
20 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Heb “the last day.”
22 tn Heb “on the eighth day an assembly.” The words “they held” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Heb “according to the judgment.”
24 tn Heb “ears.”
25 tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.
26 sn Regular fast days were not a part of Israel’s religious calendar. Rather fast days were called on special occasions, i.e., in times of drought or a locust plague (Joel 1:14; 2:15), or during a military crisis (2 Chr 20:3), or after defeat in battle (1 Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:12). A fast day was likely chosen for the reading of the scroll because the people would be more mindful of the crisis they were in and be in more of a repentant mood. The events referred to in the study note on v. 1 would have provided the basis for Jeremiah’s anticipation of a fast day when the scroll could be read.
27 tn Heb “So you go and read from the scroll which you have written from my mouth the words of the
28 tn Or “‘to us personally’…to them personally”; Heb “‘in our ears’…in their ears.” Elsewhere this has been rendered “in the hearing of” or “where they could hear.” All three of those idioms sound unnatural in this context. The mere personal pronoun seems adequate.
29 tn Heb “and Jehudi read it.” However, Jehudi has been the subject of the preceding; so it would be awkward in English to use the personal subject. The translation has chosen to bring out the idea that Jehudi himself read it by using the reflexive.