23 In those days I also saw Jews who (A)had married women of (B)Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.

25 So I (C)contended with them and [a]cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them (D)swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. 26 (E)Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, (F)who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. (G)Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. 27 Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, (H)transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?”

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 13:25 pronounced them cursed

23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married(A) women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.(B) 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language(C) of Judah. 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(D) 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.(E) 26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him.(F) He was loved by his God,(G) and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women.(H) 27 Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying(I) foreign women?”

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