Nehemiah 8:3

8:3 So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon ¹  before the men and women and those children who could understand. ²  All the people were eager to hear ³  the book of the law.

Nehemiah 8:7

8:7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah – all of whom were Levites ⁴  – were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing.

Nehemiah 8:9

8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, ⁵  Ezra the priestly scribe, ⁶  and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, ⁷  “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.

Nehemiah 10:28

10:28 “Now the rest of the people – the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple attendants, and all those who have separated themselves from the neighboring peoples ⁸  because of the law of God, along with their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all of whom are able to understand –

[8:3]  ¹ tn Heb “from the light till the noon of the day.”

[8:3]  ² 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).

[8:3]  ³ tn Heb “the ears of all the people were toward.”

[8:7]  ⁴ 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.

[8:9]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”

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

[10:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the peoples of the lands.” Cf. vv. 30, 31.