Nehemiah 8:6 - Exposition

Ezra blessed the Lord . Ezra began by an ascription of praise to Jehovah, as the Levites, probably under his direction, begin in Nehemiah 9:5 , and as David began his last address to the congregation ( 1 Chronicles 29:10 ). The great God . The epithet belongs to the writer rather than to Ezra himself, who in his own book never uses it. It recurs in this section ( Nehemiah 9:32 ), and is also employed by Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 1:5 ). Amen, Amen . The repetition marks intensity of feeling, as does the lifting up their hands . Compare 2 Kings 11:14 ; Luke 23:21 ; and for the lifting up of the hands, so natural in prayer, see Psalms 134:2 ; 1 Timothy 2:8 , etc . Worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground . Compare 2 Chronicles 7:3 ; Ezra 10:2 .