Nehemiah 13 - LSB Bible Online

Nehemiah 13

Foreigners Are Separated from Israel

On that day ^athey read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that ^bno Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but ^ahired Balaam against them to curse them. However, ^bour God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 So when they heard the law, ^athey separated ^ball foreigners from Israel.

Tobiah’s Goods Removed from God’s House

4 Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, ^awho was put in charge over the chambers of the house of our God, being ¹related to ^bTobiah, 5 had prepared a large ¹room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, also new wine and oil ^acommanded for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, as well as the ²contributions for the priests. 6 But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in ^athe thirty-second year of ^bArtaxerxes king of Babylon I had gone to the king. After some time, however, I asked leave from the king, 7 and I came to Jerusalem and discerned the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, ^aby preparing a chamber for him in the courts of the house of God. 8 It was very evil to me, so I ^athrew all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the chamber. 9 Then I said the word, and ^athey cleansed the chambers; and I returned there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.

Why Is the House of God Forsaken?

10 I also came to know that ^athe portions of the Levites had not been given them, so the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled, ^beach to his own field. 11 So I ^acontended against the officials and said, “^bWhy is the house of God forsaken?” Then I gathered them together and had them stand in their posts. 12 All Judah then brought ^athe tithe of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 In charge of the storehouses I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for ^athey were counted as faithful, and it was ¹their task to apportion everything to their ²relatives. 14 ^aRemember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my lovingkindnesses which I have shown for the house of my God and its responsibilities.

Keep the Sabbath Day Holy

15 In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses ^aon the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, ^band they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So ^cI testified against them on the day they sold food. 16 Also men of Tyre were living ¹there who brought in fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. 17 Then ^aI contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, even profaning the sabbath day? 18 ^aDid not your fathers do the same, so our God brought on us and on this city all this calamity? Yet you are adding to His anger on Israel by profaning the sabbath.”
19 ^aNow it happened that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I said the word, and the doors were shut. Then I said that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I had some of my young men stand 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 ^aI ¹warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will send forth my hand against you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. 22 And I said to the Levites that ^athey should cleanse themselves and come as gatekeepers to keep the sabbath day holy. For this also ^bremember me, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

You Shall Not Marry Foreigners

23 In those days I also saw that the Jews had ¹^amarried women from ^bAshdod, ^cAmmon, and Moab. 24 As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but only ¹the tongue of his own people. 25 So ^aI contended with them and cursed them and ^bstruck some of them and pulled out their hair and ^cmade them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take up their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 ^aDid not Solomon king of Israel sin regarding these things? ^bYet among the many nations there was no king like him, and ^che was loved by his God, and God gave him to be king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin. 27 ¹Do we then hear about you that you have done all this great evil ^aby acting unfaithfully against our God by ²marrying foreign women?” 28 And even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of ^aSanballat the Horonite, so I made him flee away from me. 29 ^aRemember them, O my God, ¹because they have defiled the priesthood and the ^bcovenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 ^aThus I cleansed them from everything foreign and ensured that the responsibilities stood for the priests and the Levites, each in his work, 31 and I arranged ^afor the supply of wood at fixed times and for the first fruits. ^bRemember me, O my God, for good.

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