John Gill Commentary Nehemiah 9

Now in the twenty fourth day of this month

The seventh month, the month Tisri or September, two days after the feast of tabernacles was ended:

the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with
sackclothes, and earth upon them ;

which were all outward tokens of mourning and humiliation, see (Joel 1:8Joel 1:14) (1 Samuel 4:12) which they could not show during the festival; but that being over, they return to it, see (Nehemiah 8:9) .

And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers ,
&c.] Such as were genuine Israelites, of the seed of Abraham, who had married wives of the Gentiles, strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, either before the reformation by Ezra, not being then discovered, or had fallen into this evil since; but now, on the reading of the law, were convinced of it, and so separated themselves from such wives, which was a proof of the truth of their repentance:

and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their
fathers :
particularly their taking of strange wives, which their fathers had also done, and set them a bad example, which they had followed; of standing and confessing, see (Luke 18:13) .

And they stood up in their place
In the outward court of the temple, where men used to stand when they prayed and confessed their sins: and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God; that they might the better know the mind and will of God, and do their duty: this they did

one fourth part of the day ;
the space of three hours, from sun rising, or six o'clock in the morning, to the time of the morning sacrifice, which was about nine o'clock:

and another fourth part they confessed ;
the goodness of God to them, and the sins they had been guilty of:

and worshipped the Lord their God ;
bowed down before him in prayer and supplication, and so spent three hours more, which reached to noon or twelve o'clock; and from thence to three o'clock, about the time of the evening sacrifice, and from thence to sun setting, or six o'clock, and so spent the whole day in the above exercises alternately.

Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites
On an ascent; an elevated place where the Levites used to stand when they sang at the time of sacrifice, and where they might be seen and heard by the people:

Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and
Chenani ;
who seem to be all Levites, see (Nehemiah 8:7) ,

and cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God ;
praying with great fervency, and making bitter lamentation for the sins of the people and their own.

Then the Levites, Jeshua
Or, then the Levites, even Jeshua:

and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and
Pethahiah ;
the same as before, with a little variation of their names, and perhaps some of them might have two names:

and said ;
to the men that stood and confessed their sins, (Nehemiah 9:2)

stand up ;
for though they are before said to stand, yet, through shame and confusion of face, and awe of the Divine Majesty, might be fallen on their faces to the ground:

and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever ;
for all the great and good things he had done for them, notwithstanding their sins; and particularly for his pardoning grace and mercy they had reason to hope for:

and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing
and praise :
the glory of which name, nature, and perfections of his, cannot be set forth by the highest praises of men, and the largest ascriptions of blessing and honour to him.