Ezra lasa tautai priekšā bauslību
1 Visa tauta kā viens sapulcējās laukumā pie Ūdens vārtiem un sacīja rakstu zinātājam Ezram, lai atnes Mozus bauslības grāmatu, ko Kungs bija devis Israēlam. 2 Priesteris Ezra atnesa sapulcei bauslības grāmatu, lai gan vīrs, gan sieva varētu klausīties un saprast. Tas bija septītā mēneša pirmajā dienā. 3 Viņš lasīja no tās Ūdens vārtu laukumā no agra rīta līdz dienas vidum vīriem, sievām un tiem, kas spēja saprast. Visa tauta klausījās bauslības grāmatā. 4 Rakstu zinātājs Ezra stāvēja uz paaugstinājuma, kas šim nolūkam bija darināts no koka. Viņam blakus pa labi stāvēja Matitja, Šema, Anāja, Ūrija, Hilkija un Maasēja, pa kreisi – Pedāja, Mīšaēls, Malkija, Hāšums, Hašbadāna, Zeharja un Mešullāms.
5 Ezra atvēra grāmatu, visai tautai redzot, viņš atradās augstāk par visu tautu, kad to atvēra, un visa tauta stāvēja. 6 Ezra slavēja Kungu, lielo Dievu, un visa tauta paceltām rokām iesaucās: “Patiesi! Patiesi!” Viņi zemojās Kungam un noliecās ar seju līdz zemei. 7 Jozua, Bānī, Šērēbja, Jāmīns, Akūbs, Šabtajs, Hodija, Maasēja, Kelīta, Azarja, Jehozābāds, Hānāns, Pelāja un levīti skaidroja tautai bauslību – tauta stāvēja. 8 Viņi lasīja un skaidroja Dieva bauslības grāmatu, lai tauta apjēgtu un saprastu lasīto.
9 Pārvaldnieks Nehemija, rakstu zinātājs priesteris Ezra un levīti, kas mācīja tautu, sacīja visai tautai: “Šī diena ir svēta Kungam, jūsu Dievam! Nesērojiet un neraudiet!” – jo visa tauta raudāja, dzirdēdama bauslības vārdus. 10 Nehemija tiem sacīja: “Ejiet, ēdiet treknu un dzeriet saldu, un dodiet tiem, kam nav nekā, ko ēst, jo šī diena ir svēta mūsu Kungam! Neskumstiet, jūsu patvērums ir prieks, ko dod Kungs!” 11 Tā levīti klusināja tautu, sacīdami: “Esiet mierā, jo šī diena ir svēta! Neskumstiet!” 12 Tad visa tauta aizgāja ēst, dzert, dalīties ēdienā un vareni līksmot, jo tie bija sapratuši vārdus, kas tiem bija mācīti.
Būdiņu svētki
(3Moz 23:33–43)13 Nākamajā dienā pie rakstu zinātāja Ezras sapulcējās visas tautas tēvu namu galvenie, priesteri un levīti, lai pārdomātu bauslības vārdus. 14 Bauslībā, ko Kungs caur Mozu bija pavēlējis, viņi atrada rakstītu, ka septītā mēneša svētkos Israēla dēliem jādzīvo būdiņās, 15 visās viņu pilsētās un Jeruzālemē jāsludina un jāsauc: “Dodieties kalnos un nesiet olīvkoka zarus, eļļas koka zarus, mirtes zarus, palmu zarus un citu zaļoksnu koku zarus, un taisiet no tiem būdiņas, kā rakstīts!”
16 Tad tauta izgāja ārā un sanesa zarus, lai taisītu būdiņas – katrs uz sava jumta, pagalmos un Dieva nama pagalmos, laukumā pie Ūdens vārtiem un laukumā pie Efraima vārtiem. 17 Visa no gūsta pārnākusī sapulce taisīja būdiņas un dzīvoja tajās. Tā Israēla dēli nebija darījuši kopš Jozuas, Nūna dēla, dienām līdz šai dienai, tāpēc valdīja liela līksmība. 18 Dienu no dienas tika lasīta Dieva bauslības grāmata – kopš pirmās līdz pēdējai dienai. Svētki ilga septiņas dienas, un astotajā dienā bija svētku sapulce, kā noteikts.
Ezra Reads the Law to the People
1 By the seventh month the people of Israel were all settled in their towns. On the first day of that month they all assembled in Jerusalem, in the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra, the priest and scholar of the Law which the Lord had given Israel through Moses, to get the book of the Law. 2 So Ezra brought it to the place where the people had gathered—men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. 3 There in the square by the gate he read the Law to them from dawn until noon, and they all listened attentively.
4 Ezra was standing on a wooden platform that had been built for the occasion. The following men stood at his right: Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and the following stood at his left: Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5 As Ezra stood there on the platform high above the people, they all kept their eyes fixed on him. As soon as he opened the book, they all stood up. 6 Ezra said, “Praise the Lord, the great God!”
All the people raised their arms in the air and answered, “Amen! Amen!” They knelt in worship, with their faces to the ground.
7 Then they rose and stood in their places, and the following Levites explained the Law to them: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah. 8 They gave an oral translation of God's Law and explained it so that the people could understand it.
9 When the people heard what the Law required, they were so moved that they began to cry. So Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra, the priest and scholar of the Law, and the Levites who were explaining the Law told all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God, so you are not to mourn or cry. 10 Now go home and have a feast. Share your food and wine with those who don't have enough. Today is holy to our Lord, so don't be sad. The joy that the Lord gives you will make you strong.”
11 The Levites went around calming the people and telling them not to be sad on such a holy day. 12 So all the people went home and ate and drank joyfully and shared what they had with others, because they understood what had been read to them.
The Festival of Shelters
13 The next day the heads of the clans, together with the priests and the Levites, went to Ezra to study the teachings of the Law. 14 They discovered that the Law, which the Lord gave through Moses, ordered the people of Israel to live in temporary shelters during the Festival of Shelters. 15 So they gave the following instructions and sent them all through Jerusalem and the other cities and towns: “Go out to the hills and get branches from pines, olives, myrtles, palms, and other trees to make shelters according to the instructions written in the Law.”
16 So the people got branches and built shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their yards, in the Temple courtyard, and in the public squares by the Water Gate and by the Ephraim Gate. 17 All the people who had come back from captivity built shelters and lived in them. This was the first time it had been done since the days of Joshua son of Nun, and everybody was excited and happy. 18 From the first day of the festival to the last they read a part of God's Law every day. They celebrated for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a closing ceremony, as required in the Law.
