Charles Ellicott Commentary Nehemiah 8:15

"and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written." — Nehemiah 8:15 (ASV)

Saying. —There is no such command in Leviticus; the Septuagint inserts, “And Ezra spoke.” But it is better to adopt Houbigant’s slight emendation of the text, which thus runs: “And when they heard it, they proclaimed,” etc. The command, then, is to go out to the Mount of Olives, and gather, not precisely the branches which the ancient law required, but such as circumstances allowed.