Nehemiah 10:28-39
Holman Christian Standard Bible
28 The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand(A) and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples(B) to obey the law of God— 29 join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath[a](C) to follow the law of God given through God’s servant Moses(D) and to carefully obey all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of Yahweh our Lord.
Details of the Vow
30 We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons.(E)
31 When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day.(F) We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year(G) and will cancel every debt.(H)
32 We will impose the following commands on ourselves:
To give an eighth of an ounce of silver[b] yearly for the service of the house of our God:(I) 33 the bread displayed before the Lord,[c](J) the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings,(K) the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel,(L) and for all the work of the house of our God.
34 We have cast lots(M) among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral houses at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God’s house to burn on the altar of the Lord our God,(N) as it is written in the law.
35 We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the Lord’s house year by year.(O) 36 We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God,(P) to the priests who serve in our God’s house. 37 We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough(Q) to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and oil.(R) A tenth of our land’s produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns.(S) 38 A priest of Aaronic descent must accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth,(T) and the Levites must take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.(U) 39 For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept(V) and where the priests who minister are, along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.(W)
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 10:29 Lit and enter in a curse and in an oath
- Nehemiah 10:32 Lit give one-third of a shekel
- Nehemiah 10:33 Lit rows of bread
Nehemiah 10:28-39
New Living Translation
The Vow of the People
28 Then the rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the pagan people of the land in order to obey the Law of God, together with their wives, sons, daughters, and all who were old enough to understand— 29 joined their leaders and bound themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord our Lord:
30 “We promise not to let our daughters marry the pagan people of the land, and not to let our sons marry their daughters.
31 “We also promise that if the people of the land should bring any merchandise or grain to be sold on the Sabbath or on any other holy day, we will refuse to buy it. Every seventh year we will let our land rest, and we will cancel all debts owed to us.
32 “In addition, we promise to obey the command to pay the annual Temple tax of one-eighth of an ounce of silver[a] for the care of the Temple of our God. 33 This will provide for the Bread of the Presence; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, the new moon celebrations, and the annual festivals; for the holy offerings; and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel. It will provide for everything necessary for the work of the Temple of our God.
34 “We have cast sacred lots to determine when—at regular times each year—the families of the priests, Levites, and the common people should bring wood to God’s Temple to be burned on the altar of the Lord our God, as is written in the Law.
35 “We promise to bring the first part of every harvest to the Lord’s Temple year after year—whether it be a crop from the soil or from our fruit trees. 36 We agree to give God our oldest sons and the firstborn of all our herds and flocks, as prescribed in the Law. We will present them to the priests who minister in the Temple of our God. 37 We will store the produce in the storerooms of the Temple of our God. We will bring the best of our flour and other grain offerings, the best of our fruit, and the best of our new wine and olive oil. And we promise to bring to the Levites a tenth of everything our land produces, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our rural towns.
38 “A priest—a descendant of Aaron—will be with the Levites as they receive these tithes. And a tenth of all that is collected as tithes will be delivered by the Levites to the Temple of our God and placed in the storerooms. 39 The people and the Levites must bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the storerooms and place them in the sacred containers near the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers.
“We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God.”
Footnotes
- 10:32 Hebrew tax of 1⁄3 of a shekel [4 grams].
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
