Ezra Reads God's Law to the People
1-2 On the first day of the seventh month, the people came together in the open area in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra, who was a teacher of the Law of Moses, to read to them from this Law that the Lord had given his people. Ezra the priest came with the Law and stood before the crowd of men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. 3 From early morning till noon, he read the Law of Moses to them, and they listened carefully. 4 Ezra stood on a high wooden platform that had been built for this occasion. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah were standing to his right, while Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash Baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam were standing to his left.
5 Ezra was up on the high platform, where he could be seen by everyone, and when he opened the book, all the people stood up. 6 Ezra praised the great Lord God, and they lifted their hands, shouting “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed with their faces to the ground and worshiped the Lord.
7-8 After this, the Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah went among the people, explaining the meaning of what Ezra had read.
9 The people started crying when God's Law was read to them. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who had been teaching the people all said, “This is a special day for the Lord your God. So don't be sad and don't cry!”
10 Nehemiah told the people, “Enjoy your good food and wine and share some with those who didn't have anything to bring. Don't be sad! This is a special day for the Lord, and he will make you happy and strong.”
11 The Levites encouraged the people by saying, “This is a sacred day, so don't worry or mourn!” 12 When the people returned to their homes, they celebrated by eating and drinking and by sharing their food with those in need, because they had understood what had been read to them.
Celebrating the Festival of Shelters
13 On the second day of the seventh month, the leaders of all the family groups came together with the priests and the Levites, so Ezra could teach them the Law 14 that the Lord had given to Moses. They learned from the Law that the people of Israel were to live in shelters when they celebrated the festival in the seventh month of the year. 15 They also learned that they were to go into the woods and gather branches of leafy trees such as olives, myrtles, and palms for making these shelters.
16 So the people gathered branches and made shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their yards, in the courtyard of the temple, and in the open areas around the Water Gate and Ephraim Gate. 17 Everyone who had returned from Babylonia built shelters. They lived in them and joyfully celebrated the Festival of Shelters for the first time since the days of Joshua son of Nun. 18 On each of the first seven days of the festival, Ezra read to the people from God's Law. Then on the eighth day, everyone gathered for worship, just as the Law had said they must.
Esrab ge ǁaesa ǂhanuba ra khomaiba.
1 Hûǁî ǁkhâb ge hā, ǁaeb ain ge Israelǁîn hoana ǀnai ǁîn di ǃādi ǃnâ ge ǁan hâ i. Tsîn ge ǂguro tsēs ǁnā ǁkhâb dis ai ǁîn hoana ǀguiǂâixase Jerusalems ǃnâ, ǁGamdao-ams ǀgūse ǁgoe ǂgās tawa ge ǀhao. Tsîn ge xoaǂanseb, prister Esrab, ǃKhūb ge Moseb ǃnâ-u Israela mā ǂhanub ǂansabeba ge ǂgan, îb ǂhanub ǂkhanisa sī ū. 2 Ob ge Esraba ǁîsa ǂguro tsēs hûǁî ǁkhâb dis ai hoaraga khoen, aorekhoegu, tarekhoedi tsî ǁkhara ǀgôan, ǁnâuǃā ǁkhān tsîn ge ǀhao hâ ipa ge hā-ū. 3 Tsîb ge ǁnāpa, ǁGamdao-ams ǀgūse ǁgoe ǂgās ai, ǃnauǁgoagasa xu karab kōse ǁîsa xu ǁîna ge khomaiba tsîn ge ǁîna ǃgaoǃgâxase gere ǃgâ.
4 Esrab ge ǃnaomâ-aiǂgapab, ǁnās ǃaroma ge kuruhe hâ ib ai ge mâ i. ǁÎb di amǀkhāb ai gu Matitiab, Semab, Anajab, Uriab, Hilkiab tsî Maasejab tsîga ge mâ i, tsî ǁîb di ǁareǀkhāb ai gu ge Pedajab, Misaeli, Malkiab, Hasummi, Hasbadanab, Saxariab tsî Mesulam hâga ge mâ i.
5 Esrab ge ǀgapise mâ-aiǂgapab ai ge mâ i tsîn ge hoaraga khoena ǁîba gere kō. Tsîn ge ǂkhanisab ge khowao, ǁîn hoana ge khâimâ. 6 Esrab ge “ǃKhūb, kai Eloba koa re” ti a mî, on ge hoaraga khoena ǃomgu âna ūkhâi tsî “Amen, Amen” ti mî tsî ǃhūb kōse ge ǃhonǁgoa.
7 ǁNās khaoǃgân ge khâi tsî ǁîn di ǃkhaidi ai ge mâ tsî gu ge sao ra Leviǁîgu, Jesuab, Banib, Serebjab, Jaminni, Akub, Sabetaib, Hodiab, Maasejab, Kelitab, Asariab, Josabadi, Hananni tsî Pelajab tsîga ǁîna ǂhanuba ge mîǃāba. 8 ǁÎgu ge Elob ǂhanuba xu khomai tsî khoena ǁnâuǃān nîga gere ǁguiǃāba.
9 Hoaraga khoen ge ǂhanub di ǂgaoǀkhāden ge ǁnâu, o ge ā. O gu ge Nehemiab, gowonia ge ib, ǂhanuǂansabeb, prister Esrab tsî khoena gere ǁguiǃāba Leviǁîgu tsîga ǁîn hoana ǃoa ge mî: “Nēs ge ǃKhūb, sadu Elob khaibahe hâ tsēsa, xuige tā ǃoa tamas ka io ā. 10 Nēsisa oa, î kaitsēsa sī tsēdī, î sadu ǂûn tsî ǂauxûi-i tsîna, xū-e ūhâ taman ǀkha ǀgoragu. Nētsēs ge ǃKhūb, sadu Eloba khaibahe hâ xuige tā ǃoa. ǃKhūb ǃnâ du ūhâ ǃgâiaǂgaob ge sado ǁhaiǁhâǃkhaise nî iba.”
11 Leviǁîgu ge khoena ǃnōǃnō tsî ge mîba, în nēti i ǃanu tsēs ai tā ǃoa. 12 On ge khoena oa tsî kai ǃgâiaǂgaob ǀkha ǂû, ā tsî ūn hâna naun ǀkha ge ǀgoragu, mîbahen ge xūnan ge ǁnâuǃā xui-ao.
ǁHaodi ǁÂudīb
13 Sao ra tsēs ai gu ge ǃhaoǃnādi danakhoegu, pristergu tsî Leviǁîgu tsîga ǂhanub ǃnâ mâ xoade gu nî ǁkhāǁkhāsense Esrab tawa ge ǀhao. 14 Tsî gu ge ǃKhūb ge Moseb ǃnâ-u mā ǂhanub ǃnâ i a mîmāsa ǃkhaisa ge hō, ǁHaodi ǁâudīb ǁaeb ǃnân Israelǁîna, hain di ǁnâugu ǀkha dīsa omrodi ǃnâ nî hâsa. 15 O gu ge sao ra mîmāsa Jerusalems tsî nau ǃādi hoadi tsîn ǃnâ ge ǂanǂan: “ǃNâuga ǃoa ǃgûǂoa, î aikehaidi, ǀkherahaidi, mirtehaidi, palmhaidi tsî nau haidi di ǁnâuga sī ū, ǂhanub ǃnâ i a xoamâisa khami du ǁnâugu ǀkha omrode nî dībasense.”
16 On ge khoena ǁnâuga sī ū tsî omrode ge dībasen, ǁîn omǂamǃnâdi ai tsî omǂnamigu ǃnâ, Tempeli omǂnamib ǃnâ tsî ǁGam Dao-ams tsî Efraim Dao-ams tsîra tawa hâ ǂgādi ais tsîna. 17 ǃKhōsisa xu ge oaǀkhī khoen hoan ge ǁnāti i omrode dībasen tsî ǁîdi ǃnâ ge ǁan. Nēs ge Nunni ôab Josuab di tsēdi khaoǃgâ ǂguro ǃnāsa ǁkhawa ge ī tsîn ge hoaraga khoena kaise gere ǃgâiaǂgao. 18 ǂGuro tsēs ǁâudīb disa xu ǀuniga tsēs kōsen ge mâ tsēs hoasa, Elob ǂhanuba xu gere khomai. ǁÎn ge hû tsēdi ǁaeba ge tsēdī tsî ǁkhaisaǁî tsēs ai ǂhanub ǂgaoǀkhās ǃoa ge ǀamǀam.
