Nehemiah 8:5 (DRB)

Passage

And Esdras opened the book before all the people: for he was above all the people: and when he had opened it, all the people stood.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 8:3 And he read it plainly in the street that was before the water gate, from the morning until midday, before the men, and the women, and all those that could understand: and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book.

Nehemiah 8:4 And Esdras the scribe stood upon a step of wood, which he had made to speak upon, and there stood by him Mathathias, and Semeia, and Ania, and Uria, and Helcia, and Maasia, on his right hand: and on the left, Phadaia, Misael, and Melchia, and Hasum, and Hasbadana, Zacharia and Mosollam.

Nehemiah 8:5 And Esdras opened the book before all the people: for he was above all the people: and when he had opened it, all the people stood.

Nehemiah 8:6 And Esdras blessed the Lord the great God: and all the people answered, Amen, amen: lifting up their hands: and they bowed down, and adored God with their faces to the ground.

Nehemiah 8:7 Now Josue, and Bani, and Serebia, Jamin, Accub, Sephtai, Odia, Maasia, Celtia, Azarias, Jozabed, Hanan, Phalaia, the Levites, made silence among the people to hear the law: and the people stood in their place.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "esdras", "opened", "book", "before", "people", and "above". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "esdras" and "opened", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And Esdras the scribe stood upon a..." into verse 6's "And Esdras blessed the Lord the great...", so "esdras" and "opened" 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 "esdras" and "opened" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.