Nehemiah 8:10

Nehemiah 8:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
• New International Version (NIV)Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

Context of Nehemiah 8:10

8They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. 9And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." 11So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved." 12And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Nehemiah 8:10 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָהֶ֡ם לְכוּ֩ אִכְל֨וּ מַשְׁמַנִּ֜ים וּשְׁת֣וּ מַֽמְתַקִּ֗ים וְשִׁלְח֤וּ מָנוֹת֙ לְאֵ֣ין נָכ֣וֹן ל֔וֹ כִּֽי־קָד֥וֹשׁ הַיּ֖וֹם לַאֲדֹנֵ֑ינוּ וְאַל־תֵּ֣עָצֵ֔בוּ כִּֽי־חֶדְוַ֥ת יְהוָ֖ה הִ֥יא מָֽעֻזְּכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, Go your wayיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• the fatמַשְׁמָןmashmân · fat pieceH4924
• and drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• the sweetמַמְתַֿקִּיםmamtaq · sweetnessH4477
• and sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• portionsמָנָהmânâh · portionH4490
• unto them for whom nothing is preparedכּוּןkûn · to establish: prepareH3559
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• holyקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
• unto our Lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• neither be ye sorryעָצַב‛âtsab · to hurtH6087
• for the joyחֶדְוָהchedvâh · joyH2304
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• is your strengthמָעוֹזmâ‛ôz mâ‛ûz mâ‛ôz mâ‛ûz · securityH4581

Cross-references for Nehemiah 8:10

• Ecclesiastes 2:24There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,
• Ecclesiastes 3:13also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.
• Ecclesiastes 5:18Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.
• Ecclesiastes 9:7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
• 1 Timothy 6:17As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
• Deuteronomy 26:11And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.
• Esther 9:19Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the rural towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another.
• Job 31:16"If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
• Ecclesiastes 11:2Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
• Luke 11:41But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
• Revelation 11:10and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.
• Psalms 28:7The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
• Psalms 149:2Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
• Proverbs 17:22A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
• Isaiah 6:7And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."
• Isaiah 12:1You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 8:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Eat the fat, and drink the sweet - Eat and drink the best that you have; and while ye are feeding yourselves in the fear of the Lord, remember those who cannot feast; and send portions to them, that the joy and the thanksgiving may be general. Let the poor have reason to rejoice as well as you. For the joy of the Lord is your strength - This is no gluttonous and drunken festival that enervates the body, and enfeebles the mind: from your religious feast…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10The “sending of portions” to the poor is not distinctly mentioned in any but the later historical Scriptures (compare the margin reference). The practice naturally grew out of this injunction of the Law Deuteronomy 16:11, Deuteronomy 16:14.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-12Verses 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10People ate rich foods like meat only on special occasions. Sweet drinks meant unfermented juice, unlike the vinegar common laborers drank (see Ruth 2:14). It is good to share with those in need (see Deuteronomy 15:11; Job 29:16; Proverbs 31:20; Matthew 6:2–3; Acts 4:34–35).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-159-10. 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…Read the comment

Topics related to Nehemiah 8:10

• Beneficence
• Blessing
• Feasts
• Joy
• Law
• Levites
• Poor
• Repentance
• Trumpets

In the dictionaries

• Banquet
• Ezra
• Festivals, Religious
• Poor
• Read
• Tabernacles, Feast of
• Atonement, Day of
• Bible, the
• Criticism of the Bible
• Israel, History of

Commentaries on Nehemiah 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings