11 So (A)I contended with the rulers, and said, (B)“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place.

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11 So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?”(A) Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.

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39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi (A)shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers (B)and the singers are; and we will not (C)neglect the house of our God.

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39 The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept.

“We will not neglect the house of our God.”(A)

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25 So I (A)contended with them and [a]cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them (B)swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 13:25 pronounced them cursed

25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath(A) in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.(B)

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17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?

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17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day?

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Do Not Rob God

“Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
(A)In tithes and offerings.
You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 (B)Bring all the tithes into the (C)storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the (D)windows of heaven
And (E)pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.

11 “And I will rebuke (F)the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of hosts;

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“Will a mere mortal rob(A) God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes(B) and offerings. You are under a curse(C)—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe(D) into the storehouse,(E) that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates(F) of heaven and pour out(G) so much blessing(H) that there will not be room enough to store it.(I) 11 I will prevent pests from devouring(J) your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,(K)” says the Lord Almighty.

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(A)Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
(B)But such as keep the law contend with them.

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Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked,
    but those who heed it resist them.

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34 Because I feared the great (A)multitude,
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—

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34 because I so feared the crowd(A)
    and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
    that I kept silent(B) and would not go outside—

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And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, (A)“Each of you is [a]exacting usury from his brother.” So I [b]called a great assembly against them. And I said to them, “According to our ability we have (B)redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”

Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk (C)in the fear of our God (D)because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? 10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this [c]usury! 11 Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.”

12 So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.”

Then I called the priests, (E)and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. 13 Then (F)I shook out [d]the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.”

And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. (G)Then the people did according to this promise.

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 5:7 charging interest
  2. Nehemiah 5:7 Lit. held
  3. Nehemiah 5:10 interest
  4. Nehemiah 5:13 Lit. my lap

When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!”(A) So I called together a large meeting to deal with them and said: “As far as possible, we have bought(B) back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.(C)

So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach(D) of our Gentile enemies? 10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest!(E) 11 Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest(F) you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

12 “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”

Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath(G) to do what they had promised. 13 I also shook(H) out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”

At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,”(I) and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

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17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great (A)before the Lord, for men (B)abhorred[a] the offering of the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:17 despised

17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they[a] were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text people