Bede

"And they rose to stand, and read, etc." For who would not marvel that the people had such an extraordinary care for piety, that four times a day, that is, at dawn, the third hour, the sixth, and the ninth, at times when they were to be dedicated to prayer or psalmody, they would commit themselves to hearing the divine law, so that with their minds renewed in God, they might return purer and more devout to implore His mercy; and also at night, four times, shaking off the lethargy of sleep, they would rise to confess their sins and …

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah ↗