Nehemiah 8:7
Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
The verse belongs to a public gathering in Jerusalem after the return from captivity, where Ezra and the Levites stood before the assembled people and the people worshiped the Lord. The people themselves had asked to hear the Scriptures, and Ezra read to them from a platform from morning until midday. This public reading followed a command for the Scriptures to be read at the appointed time, a practice that had not been observed during the captivity.
As the law was read, the Levites and priests helped the people understand it by explaining it in their own language and making its meaning clear, so the people could follow the meaning, grasp its requirements, and remain in their places. The work included helping those who were ignorant, for intermarriage with other nations had corrupted the Hebrew language, so not all could understand the reading without help. Explaining Scripture to the people in this way is part of the public reading of God's law.
The instruction set forth God's requirements, the blessings of obedience and the consequences of disobedience, bringing to mind the national sins and the scattering into captivity. Understanding the law as read was expected to lead to sorrow for sin, deep repentance, and a return to the Lord, as in Ezra's and Josiah's days, and the sorrowing people were then encouraged to rejoice in God's mercy.