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For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/newcom.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../vmenus/nehemiah/8-9.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcom/nehemiah/8-9.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="http://biblehub.com/commentaries/">Commentaries</a> > Nehemiah 8:9</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../nehemiah/8-8.htm" title="Nehemiah 8:8">◄</a> Nehemiah 8:9 <a href="../nehemiah/8-10.htm" title="Nehemiah 8:10">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse">And Nehemiah, which <i>is</i> the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day <i>is</i> holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.</div><div id="jump">Jump to: <a href="/commentaries/barnes/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Barnes' Notes">Barnes</a> • <a href="/commentaries/benson/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Benson Commentary">Benson</a> • <a href="/commentaries/illustrator/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Biblical Illustrator">BI</a> • <a href="/commentaries/cambridge/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Cambridge Bible">Cambridge</a> • <a href="/commentaries/clarke/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Clarke's Commentary">Clarke</a> • <a href="/commentaries/darby/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Darby's Bible Synopsis">Darby</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ellicott/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers">Ellicott</a> • <a href="/commentaries/expositors/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Expositor's Bible">Expositor's</a> • <a href="/commentaries/edt/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Expositor's Dictionary">Exp Dct</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gaebelein/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Gaebelein's Annotated Bible">Gaebelein</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gsb/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Geneva Study Bible">GSB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gill/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Gill's Bible Exposition">Gill</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gray/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Gray's Concise">Gray</a> • <a href="/commentaries/guzik/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Guzik Bible Commentary">Guzik</a> • <a href="/commentaries/haydock/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Haydock Catholic Bible Commentary">Haydock</a> • <a href="/commentaries/hastings/nehemiah/8-10.htm" title="Hastings Great Texts">Hastings</a> • <a href="/commentaries/homiletics/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Pulpit Homiletics">Homiletics</a> • <a href="/commentaries/jfb/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Jamieson-Fausset-Brown">JFB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/kad/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Keil and Delitzsch OT">KD</a> • <a href="/commentaries/kelly/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Kelly Commentary">Kelly</a> • <a href="/commentaries/king-en/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Kingcomments Bible Studies">King</a> • <a href="/commentaries/lange/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Lange Commentary">Lange</a> • <a href="/commentaries/maclaren/nehemiah/8.htm" title="MacLaren Expositions">MacLaren</a> • <a href="/commentaries/mhc/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Matthew Henry Concise">MHC</a> • <a href="/commentaries/mhcw/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Matthew Henry Full">MHCW</a> • <a href="/commentaries/parker/nehemiah/8.htm" title="The People's Bible by Joseph Parker">Parker</a> • <a href="/commentaries/poole/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Matthew Poole">Poole</a> • <a href="/commentaries/pulpit/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Pulpit Commentary">Pulpit</a> • <a href="/commentaries/sermon/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Sermon Bible">Sermon</a> • <a href="/commentaries/sco/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Scofield Reference Notes">SCO</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ttb/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Through The Bible">TTB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/wes/nehemiah/8.htm" title="Wesley's Notes">WES</a> • <a href="#tsk" title="Treasury of Scripture Knowledge">TSK</a></div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="comtype">EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/nehemiah/8.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(9) <span class= "bld">Mourn not, nor weep.</span>—The days of high festival were unsuitable for public and, as it were, objective sorrow. The Day of Atonement was coming for that; as also the special day of fasting and covenant, which was already in the plan of Nehemiah and Ezra.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/benson/nehemiah/8.htm">Benson Commentary</a></div><span class="bld"><a href="/nehemiah/8-9.htm" title="And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.">Nehemiah 8:9</a></span>. <span class="ital">This day is holy unto the Lord your God — </span>Namely, as a day of feasting and thanksgiving to God, and rejoicing in his mercies; for otherwise even days of fasting were <span class="ital">holy to God </span>in general, though not in the sense here meant. <span class="ital">Mourn not, nor weep — Be not sorry, </span><a href="/nehemiah/8-10.htm" title="Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy to our LORD: neither be you sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.">Nehemiah 8:10</a>. <span class="ital">Hold your peace: neither be ye grieved, </span><a href="/nehemiah/8-11.htm" title="So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be you grieved.">Nehemiah 8:11</a>. Every thing is beautiful in its season. As we must not be <span class="ital">merry, </span>when God calls to <span class="ital">mourning; </span>so we must not afflict ourselves, and be swallowed up in sorrow, when God gives us occasion to rejoice. Even sorrow for sin must not grow so excessive as to hinder our joy in God, and cheerfulness in his service. <span class="ital">For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law — </span>Out of a deep sense of their great guilt, and extreme danger by reason of it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="mhc" id="mhc"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/mhc/nehemiah/8.htm">Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary</a></div>8:9-12 It was a good sign that their hearts were tender, when they heard the words of the law. The people were to send portions to those for whom nothing was prepared. It is the duty of a religious feast, as well as of a religious fast, to draw out the soul to the hungry; God's bounty should make us bountiful. We must not only give to those that offer themselves, but send to those out of sight. Their strength consisted in joy in the Lord. The better we understand God's word, the more comfort we find in it; the darkness of trouble arises from the darkness of ignorance.<a name="bar" id="bar"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/barnes/nehemiah/8.htm">Barnes' Notes on the Bible</a></div>Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha - Hereto, Nehemiah has called himself פחה pechâh <a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-14.htm">Nehemiah 5:14-15</a>, <a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/5-18.htm">Nehemiah 5:18</a>, which is the ordinary word for "governor." Now for the first time he is called 'the Tirshatha'" (see <a href="/ezra/2-63.htm">Ezra 2:63</a> note.)<p>The people wept ... - Because the Law brought vividly before them their sins of omission and commission. In <a href="/nehemiah/8-10.htm">Nehemiah 8:10</a> the Jews were not forbidden to be sorry for their sins, but they were only prohibited from marring a festive occasion with the expression of their sorrow. <a name="jfb" id="jfb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/jfb/nehemiah/8.htm">Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary</a></div>Ne 8:9-15. The People Comforted.<p>9, 10. This day is holy unto the Lord … mourn not, nor weep—A deep sense of their national sins, impressively brought to their remembrance by the reading of the law and its denunciations, affected the hearts of the people with penitential sorrow. But notwithstanding the painful remembrances of their national sins which the reading of the law awakened, the people were exhorted to cherish the feelings of joy and thankfulness associated with a sacred festival (see on [489]Le 23:24). By sending portions of it to their poorer brethren (De 16:11, 14; Es 9:19), they would also enable them to participate in the public rejoicings.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/poole/nehemiah/8.htm">Matthew Poole's Commentary</a></div> <span class="bld">This day is holy unto the Lord your God, </span> to wit, as a day of feasting and thanksgiving to God, and rejoicing in his mercies; for otherwise even fasting days were holy to God in the general, though not in the sense here meant. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">All the people wept, </span> out of a deep sense of their great guilt, and of their extreme danger by reason of it. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="gil" id="gil"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gill/nehemiah/8.htm">Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible</a></div>And Nehemiah which is the Tirshatha,.... Or governor, as Zerubbabel had been, and now Nehemiah, see <a href="/ezra/2-63.htm">Ezra 2:63</a> <p>and Ezra the priest and scribe; see <a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/8-1.htm">Nehemiah 8:1</a>, <p>and the Levites that taught the people; see <a href="/nehemiah/8-7.htm">Nehemiah 8:7</a> <p>said unto all the people, this day is holy unto the Lord your God; being both the new moon and the feast of blowing of trumpets: <p>mourn not, nor weep; which was unsuitable to a festival, and especially such an one as this, in which trumpets were to be blown, and gladness to be shown, <a href="/numbers/10-10.htm">Numbers 10:10</a> <p>for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law; perceiving they had not kept it, but had broke it in many instances, and so liable to the wrath and judgment of God in case of disobedience. <a name="gsb" id="gsb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gsb/nehemiah/8.htm">Geneva Study Bible</a></div><span class="cverse2">And Nehemiah, which <i>is</i> the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day <i>is</i> holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people <span class="cverse3">{e}</span> wept, when they heard the words of the law.</span><p>(e) In considering their offences against the Law, therefore the Levites do not reprove them for mourning, but assure them of God's mercies if they are repentant.</div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><div class="comtype">EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/cambridge/nehemiah/8.htm">Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges</a></div><span class="bld">9</span>. <span class="ital">Nehemiah, which</span> is <span class="ital">the Tirshatha</span>] R.V. <span class="bld">N. which was</span> &c. On the title here used see note on <a href="/ezra/2-63.htm" title="And the Tirshatha said to them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.">Ezra 2:63</a>. Nehemiah in his own ‘Memoirs’ speaks of himself as ‘Pekhah’ (cf. <a href="/context/nehemiah/5-14.htm" title="Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bread of the governor....">Nehemiah 5:14-15</a>; <a href="/nehemiah/5-18.htm" title="Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy on this people.">Nehemiah 5:18</a>); and in consequence some (e.g. Smend) suggest that the title applied here and in <a href="/nehemiah/10-2.htm" title="Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,">Nehemiah 10:2</a> to Nehemiah, is a gloss. Others also (see note on <span class="ital"><a href="/nehemiah/8-1.htm" title="And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.">Nehemiah 8:1</a></span>) who refer the events described in this chapter to the year 457, consider Nehemiah’s name to be an interpolation. But the occurrence of the title is only evidence that we are no longer dealing with the writings of Nehemiah, who would have styled himself ‘Pekhah.’ The LXX. omits the title: the Vulg. gives <span class="ital">Athersatha</span>. The supposition that Nehemiah purposely eschews the honorific title ‘Tirshatha,’ and prefers a more lowly term ‘pekhah’ is based on an imaginary distinction between the words.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>This <span class="ital">day</span> is <span class="ital">holy</span>] Both as a new-moon day and as the day on which the Law was read. See note on <span class="ital"><a href="/nehemiah/8-2.htm" title="And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.">Nehemiah 8:2</a></span>. It may be doubted whether Ezra could here be referring to ‘the Holy Convocation’ prescribed for the 1st of Tisri in <a href="/leviticus/23-24.htm" title="Speak to the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.">Leviticus 23:24</a>. There is no mention in this context either of the Feast of Trumpets on the 1st, or of the Day of Atonement on the 9th of Tisri.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">mourn not, nor weep</span>] The people had broken out into demonstrations of grief. As they listened to the words of the Law, they perceived in how many ways they had violated it. Compare the effect of hearing ‘the words of the book of the law’ upon Josiah, <a href="/2_kings/22-11.htm" title="And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.">2 Kings 22:11</a>. It is clear the people generally were ignorant of the requirements of the Law. May we not infer that the priests had kept to themselves the contents of the collections of laws?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="pul" id="pul"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/nehemiah/8.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha</span>. The term "Tirshatha" had previously been applied only to Zerubbabel (<a href="/ezra/2-63.htm">Ezra 2:63</a>; <a href="/nehemiah/7-65.htm">Nehemiah 7:65</a>), but it was applicable to any governor. The writer of the section, introducing Nehemiah here for the first time, naturally gives him a title of reverence. Nehemiah's modesty had made him content to describe himself by the general and comparatively weak term <span class="accented">pechah. <span class="cmt_word"></span>Said unto the people... Mourn not</span>. A combined remonstrance is made against the open grief of the people by the civil and ecclesiastical rulers, and by the order of Levites. Mourning was unsuitable for a day of high festivity, the opening day of the civil year and of the sabbatical month, itself a sabbath or day of rest, and one to be kept by blowing of trumpets (<a href="/leviticus/23-24.htm">Leviticus 23:24, 25</a>; <a href="/numbers/29-1.htm">Numbers 29:1-6</a>). Nehemiah 8:9<a name="kad" id="kad"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/kad/nehemiah/8.htm">Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament</a></div>The celebration of the feast of the new moon. - <a href="/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9</a> Then Nehemiah, the Tirshatha (see remarks on <a href="/ezra/2-63.htm">Ezra 2:63</a>), and the priest Ezra the scribe, and the Levites who were teaching the people, said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord our God. Mourn not, nor weep; for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law." היּום is the new moon of the seventh month. The portion read made a powerful impression upon the assembled crowds. Undoubtedly it consisted of certain sections of Deuteronomy and other parts of the Thorah, which were adapted to convict the people of their sin in transgressing the commands of the Lord, and of the punishments to which they had thus exposed themselves. They were so moved thereby that they mourned and wept. This induced Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites, who had been applying what was read to the hearts of their hearers, to encourage them.<div class="vheading2">Links</div><a href="/interlinear/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 Interlinear</a><br /><a href="/texts/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 Parallel Texts</a><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/niv/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="http://bibleapps.com/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 Bible Apps</a><br /><a href="/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 Parallel</a><br /><a href="http://bibliaparalela.com/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="http://holybible.com.cn/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="http://saintebible.com/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 French Bible</a><br /><a href="http://bibeltext.com/nehemiah/8-9.htm">Nehemiah 8:9 German Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td align="center"><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /><br /> </div> <div id="left"><a href="../nehemiah/8-8.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Nehemiah 8:8"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Nehemiah 8:8" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../nehemiah/8-10.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Nehemiah 8:10"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Nehemiah 8:10" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div> <div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>