Nehemiah 13:4-14

New American Standard Bible

Tobiah Expelled and the Temple Cleansed

⁴ Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, ^(A)who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being ^[a]related to ^(B)Tobiah, ⁵ had prepared a large ^[b]room for him, where previously they used to put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil ^(C)prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the ^[c]contributions for the priests. ⁶ But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in ^(D)the thirty-second year of ^(E)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 ^[d]learned about the evil that Eliashib had committed for ^[e]Tobiah, ^(F)by preparing a ^[f]room for him in the courtyards of the house of God. ⁸ It was very displeasing to me, so I ^(G)threw all of Tobiah’s household articles out of the room. ⁹ Then I gave an order, and ^(H)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 ^[g]discovered that ^(I)the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so the Levites and the singers who performed the service had ^[h]gone away, ^(J)each to his own field. ¹¹ So I ^[i](K)reprimanded the officials and said, “^(L)Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts. ¹² All Judah then brought ^(M)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 ^(N)they were considered reliable, and it was ^[j]their task to distribute to their kinsmen. ^14 (O)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.