Nehemiah 8:7 (DRB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Nehemiah 8:8 And they read in the book of the law of God distinctly and plainly to be understood: and they understood when it was read.

Nehemiah 8:9 And Nehemiah (he is Athersatha) and Esdras the priest and scribe, and the Levites who interpreted to all the people, said: This is a holy day to the Lord our God: do not mourn, nor weep: for all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "josue", "bani", "serebia", "jamin", "accub", "sephtai", "odia", and "maasia". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "josue" and "bani", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "And Esdras blessed the Lord the great..." into verse 8's "And they read in the book of...", so "josue" and "bani" 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 "josue" and "bani" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.