So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.”
We may here observe, I. How the people were wounded with the words of the law that were read to them. The law works death, and speaks terror, shows men their sins, and their misery and danger because of sin, and thunders a curse against every one that continues not in every part of his duty.
Commenting on Nehemiah 8:9-12
So the Levites stilled all the people,.... Made them quiet and easy, being backed by the governor: saying, hold your peace; refrain from weeping and mourning: for the day is holy; a festival, set apart for joy and gladness: neither be ye grieved; inwardly; as they were not to show any signs of sorrow outwardly, so they were not to cherish grief inwardly.
THE PEOPLE COMFORTED. (Neh 8:9-15) This day is holy unto the Lord . . . mourn not, nor weep--A deep sense of their national sins, impressively brought to their remembrance by the reading of the law and its denunciations, affected the hearts of the people with penitential sorrow.
Commenting on Nehemiah 8:9-15