Nehemiah 8:10

10 And he saith to them, `Go, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and sent portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for to-day [is] holy to our Lord, and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.'

Nehemiah 8:10 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 8:10

Then he said unto them
Nehemiah the Tirshatha or governor:

go your way;
to their own houses, and refresh themselves; it being noon, and they had stood many hours attentive to the reading and expounding of the law:

eat the fat, and drink the sweet:
not a common meal, but a feast, consisting of the richest provisions, the best of food and liquors

and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared;
for the poor, who had no food at home provided for them; the widow, fatherless, and stranger, who at festivals were to partake of the entertainment, ( Deuteronomy 16:11 )

for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be you sorry;
confirming what the Levites had said and exhorted to, ( Nehemiah 8:9 )

for the joy of the Lord is your strength;
to rejoice, as the Lord commanded them on such days as these, was a means both of increasing their bodily strength and their inward strength, and of fitting them the more to perform their duty to God and men with cheerfulness, which sorrow and heaviness made unfit for; and the joy which has the Lord for its object, and comes from him, is the cause of renewing spiritual strength, so as to run and not be weary, walk and not faint, in the ways of God.

Nehemiah 8:10 In-Context

8 and they read in the book, in the law of God, explaining -- so as to give the meaning, and they give understanding to the convocation.

9 And Nehemiah -- he [is] the Tirshatha -- saith (and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who are instructing the people) to all the people, `To-day is holy to Jehovah your God, do not mourn, nor weep:' for all the people are weeping at their hearing the words of the law.

10 And he saith to them, `Go, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and sent portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for to-day [is] holy to our Lord, and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.'

11 And the Levites are keeping all the people silent, saying, `Be silent, for to-day [is] holy, and be not grieved.'

12 And all the people go to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great joy, because they have understood concerning the words that they made known to them.