Nehemiah 13
Living Bible
13 On that same day, as the laws of Moses were being read, the people found a statement which said that the Ammonites and Moabites should never be permitted to worship at the Temple.[a] 2 For they had not been friendly to the people of Israel. Instead, they had hired Balaam to curse them—although God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 When this rule was read, all the foreigners were immediately expelled from the assembly.
4 Before this had happened, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed as custodian of the Temple storerooms and who was also a good friend of Tobiah, 5 had converted a storage room into a beautiful guest room for Tobiah. The room had previously been used for storing the grain offerings, frankincense, bowls, and tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil. Moses had decreed that these offerings belonged to the priests, Levites, the members of the choir, and the gatekeepers.
6 I was not in Jerusalem at the time, for I had returned to Babylon in the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes (though I later received his permission to go back again to Jerusalem). 7 When I arrived back in Jerusalem and learned of this evil deed of Eliashib—that he had prepared a guest room in the Temple for Tobiah— 8 I was very upset and threw out all of his belongings from the room. 9 Then I demanded that the room be thoroughly cleaned, and I brought back the Temple bowls, the grain offerings, and frankincense.
10 I also learned that the Levites had not been given what was due them, so they and the choir singers who were supposed to conduct the worship services had returned to their farms. 11 I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple been forsaken?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. 12 And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple treasury.
13 I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah the Levite in charge of the administration of the storehouses; and I appointed Hanan (son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah) as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and their job was to make an honest distribution to their fellow Levites.
14 O my God, remember this good deed and do not forget all that I have done for the Temple.
15 One day I was on a farm and saw some men treading winepresses on the Sabbath, hauling in sheaves, and loading their donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce, which they took that day into Jerusalem. So I opposed them publicly. 16 There were also some men from Tyre bringing in fish and all sorts of wares and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Jerusalem.
17 Then I asked the leaders of Judah, “Why are you profaning the Sabbath? 18 Wasn’t it enough that your fathers did this sort of thing and brought the present evil days upon us and upon our city? And now you are bringing more wrath upon the people of Israel by permitting the Sabbath to be desecrated in this way.”
19 So from then on I commanded that the gates of the city be shut as darkness fell on Friday evenings and not be opened until the Sabbath had ended; and I sent some of my servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 The merchants and tradesmen camped outside Jerusalem once or twice, 21 but I spoke sharply to them and said, “What are you doing out here, camping around the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” And that was the last time they came on the Sabbath.
22 Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the gates in order to preserve the sanctity of the Sabbath. Remember this good deed, O my God! Have compassion upon me in accordance with your great goodness.
23 About the same time I realized that some of the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, 24 and that many of their children spoke in the language of Ashdod and couldn’t speak the language of Judah at all. 25 So I confronted these parents and cursed them and punched a few of them and knocked them around and pulled out their hair; and they vowed before God that they would not let their children intermarry with non-Jews.
26 “Wasn’t this exactly King Solomon’s problem?” I demanded. “There was no king who could compare with him, and God loved him and made him the king over all Israel; but even so he was led into idolatry by foreign women. 27 Do you think that we will let you get away with this sinful deed?”
28 One of the sons of Jehoiada (the son of Eliashib the High Priest) was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him out of the Temple. 29 Remember them, O my God, for they have defiled the priesthood and the promises and vows of the priests and Levites. 30 So I purged out the foreigners and assigned tasks to the priests and Levites, making certain that each knew his work. 31 They supplied wood for the altar at the proper times and cared for the sacrifices and the first offerings of every harvest. Remember me, my God, with your kindness.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 13:1 See Deuteronomy 23:3-5.
Nehemiah 13
New American Standard Bible
Foreigners Excluded
13 On that day the Book of Moses was (A)read aloud [a]as the people listened; and there was found written in it that (B)no Ammonite or Moabite was ever to enter the assembly of God, 2 because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but (C)hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, (D)our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 So when they heard the Law, (E)they excluded (F)all foreigners from Israel.
Tobiah Expelled and the Temple Cleansed
4 Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, (G)who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being [b]related to (H)Tobiah, 5 had prepared a large [c]room for him, where previously they used to put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil (I)prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the [d]contributions for the priests. 6 But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in (J)the thirty-second year of (K)Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had come to the king. After some time, however, I requested a leave of absence from the king, 7 and I came to Jerusalem and [e]learned about the evil that Eliashib had committed for [f]Tobiah, (L)by preparing a [g]room for him in the courtyards of the house of God. 8 It was very displeasing to me, so I (M)threw all of Tobiah’s household articles out of the room. 9 Then I gave an order, and (N)they cleansed the rooms; and I returned the utensils of the house of God there with the grain offering and the frankincense.
Tithes Restored
10 I also [h]discovered that (O)the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so the Levites and the singers who performed the service had [i]gone away, (P)each to his own field. 11 So I [j](Q)reprimanded the officials and said, “(R)Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts. 12 All Judah then brought (S)the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 To be in charge of the storehouses, I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for (T)they were considered reliable, and it was [k]their task to distribute to their kinsmen. 14 (U)Remember me for this, my God, and do not wipe out my loyal deeds which I have performed for the house of my God and its services.
Sabbath Restored
15 In those days I saw in Judah people who were treading wine presses (V)on the Sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and every kind of load, (W)and they were bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So (X)I admonished them on the day they sold food. 16 Also people of Tyre were living [l]there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem. 17 Then (Y)I [m]reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, [n]by profaning the Sabbath day? 18 (Z)Did your fathers not do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 And (AA)it came about that just as it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered that the doors be shut, [o]and that they were not to open them until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the Sabbath day. 20 Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. 21 Then (AB)I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will [p]use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 And I ordered the Levites that (AC)they were to purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the Sabbath day. For this also (AD)remember me, my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your mercy.
Mixed Marriages Forbidden
23 In those days I also saw that the Jews had [q](AE)married women from (AF)Ashdod, (AG)Ammon, and Moab. 24 As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them knew how to speak the language of Judah, but [r]only the language of his own people. 25 So (AH)I quarreled with them and cursed them, and (AI)struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and (AJ)made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 (AK)Did Solomon the king of Israel not sin regarding these things? (AL)Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and (AM)he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet the foreign women caused even him to sin. 27 Has it not then been reported about you that you have committed all this great evil (AN)by acting unfaithfully against our God, by [s]marrying foreign women?” 28 Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, became a son-in-law of (AO)Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me. 29 (AP)Remember them, my God, [t]because they have defiled the priesthood and the (AQ)covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 (AR)So I purified them from everything foreign, and assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each in his work, 31 and I arranged (AS)for the delivery of wood at appointed times and for the first fruits. (AT)Remember me, my God, for good.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 13:1 Lit in the ears of the people
- Nehemiah 13:4 Lit close to
- Nehemiah 13:5 Or chamber
- Nehemiah 13:5 Or uplifted offerings
- Nehemiah 13:7 Or understood
- Nehemiah 13:7 An Ammonite, banned from the temple
- Nehemiah 13:7 Or chamber, and so in vv 8, 9
- Nehemiah 13:10 Or knew
- Nehemiah 13:10 Lit fled
- Nehemiah 13:11 Or contended with
- Nehemiah 13:13 Lit on them to
- Nehemiah 13:16 Lit in it
- Nehemiah 13:17 Or contended with
- Nehemiah 13:17 Lit and
- Nehemiah 13:19 Lit and commanded
- Nehemiah 13:21 Lit send a hand against
- Nehemiah 13:23 Lit given dwelling to
- Nehemiah 13:24 Lit according to the tongue of people and people
- Nehemiah 13:27 Lit giving dwelling to
- Nehemiah 13:29 Lit for the defilements of
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
