Nehemiah 8:10 (DBY)

Passage

And 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 the day is holy to our Lord; and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 8:8 And they read in the law of God distinctly out of the book, and gave the sense, and caused [them] to understand the reading.

Nehemiah 8:9 And Nehemiah, that is, the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that explained to the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to Jehovah your God: mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

Nehemiah 8:10 And 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 the day is holy to our Lord; and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:11 And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still! for the day is holy; neither be grieved.

Nehemiah 8:12 And all the people went their way, to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing. For they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "drink", "sweet", "send", "portions", "nothing", "prepared", and "holy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "drink", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "And Nehemiah that is the Tirshatha and..." into verse 11's "And the Levites quieted all the people...", so "said" and "drink" belong inside that flow. In Nehemiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "said" and "drink" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.