Nehemiah 13
Chapter 13
Nehemiah’s Various Reforms
1 On that same day, as the Book of Moses was being read to the people, the passage was found that said no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God.t2 For they had not provided the Israelites with food and water in the wilderness. Instead, they hired Balaam to curse them, though our God turned the curse into a blessing.
3 When this passage of the Law was read, all those of foreign descent were immediately excluded from the assembly.
4 Before this had happened, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed as supervisor of the storerooms of the Temple of our God and who was also a relative of Tobiah,
5 had converted a large storage room and placed it at Tobiah’s disposal. The room had previously been used for storing the grain offerings, the frankincense, various articles for the Temple, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil (which were prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers), as well as the offerings for the priests.
6 I was not in Jerusalem at that time, for I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign,t though I later asked his permission to return.7 When I arrived back in Jerusalem, I learned about Eliashib’s evil deed in providing Tobiah with a room in the courtyards of the Temple of God.8 I became very upset and threw all of Tobiah’s belongings out of the room.
9 Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense.
10 I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields.11 I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties.
12 And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms.
13 I assigned supervisors for the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites. And I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites.
14 Remember this good deed, O my God, and do not forget all that I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God and its services.15 In those days I saw men of Judah treading out their winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath. So I rebuked them for selling their produce on that day.
16 Some men from Tyre, who lived in Jerusalem, were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise. They were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah—and in Jerusalem at that!
17 So I confronted the nobles of Judah. “Why are you profaning the Sabbath in this evil way?” I asked.
18 “Wasn’t it just this sort of thing that your ancestors did that caused our God to bring all this trouble upon us and our city? Now you are bringing even more wrath upon Israel by permitting the Sabbath to be desecrated in this way!”
19 Then I commanded that the gates of Jerusalem should be shut as darkness fell every Friday evening,t not to be opened until the Sabbath ended. I sent some of my own servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day.20 The merchants and tradesmen with a variety of wares camped outside Jerusalem once or twice.21 But I spoke sharply to them and said, “What are you doing out here, camping around the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you!” And that was the last time they came on the Sabbath.
22 Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the gates in order to preserve the holiness of the Sabbath.
Remember this good deed also, O my God! Have compassion on me according to your great and unfailing love.23 About the same time I realized that some of the men of Judah had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.24 Furthermore, half their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of some other people and could not speak the language of Judah at all.
25 So I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear in the name of God that they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people of the land.
26 “Wasn’t this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin?” I demanded. “There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives.
27 How could you even think of committing this sinful deed and acting unfaithfully toward God by marrying foreign women?”
28 One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest had married a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite, so I banished him from my presence.
29 Remember them, O my God, for they have defiled the priesthood and the solemn vows of the priests and Levites.30 So I purged out everything foreign and assigned tasks to the priests and Levites, making certain that each knew his work.
31 I also made sure that the supply of wood for the altar and the first portions of the harvest were brought at the proper times.
Remember this in my favor, O my God.
NEHEMIAH 13
Foreigners Are Sent Away
1 t On that day when the Law of Moses was read aloud to everyone, it was discovered that Ammonites and Moabites were forbidden to belong to the people of God. 2 t This was because they had refused to give food and water to Israel and had hired Balaamt to call down a curse on them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.
3 Following the reading of the Law of Moses, the people of Israel started sending away anyone who had any foreign ancestors.Nehemiah Makes Other //Changes
4 The priest Eliashib was a relative of Tobiah and had earlier been put in charge of the temple storerooms.
5 So he let Tobiah live in one of these rooms, where all kinds of things had been stored—the grain offerings, incense, utensils for the temple, as well as the tenth of the grain, wine, and olive oil that had been given for the use of the Levites, singers, and temple guards, and the gifts for the priests.
6 This happened in the thirty-second year that Artaxerxest ruled Babylonia. I was away from Jerusalem at the time, because I was visiting him. Later I received permission from the king 7 to return to Jerusalem. Only then did I find out that Eliashib had done this terrible thing of letting Tobiah have a room in the temple. 8 It upset me so much that I threw out every bit of Tobiah's furniture.
9 Then I ordered the room to be cleaned and the temple utensils, the grain offerings, and the incense to be brought back into the room.
10 t I also found out that the temple singers and several other Levites had returned to work on their farms, because they had not been given their share of the harvest. 11 I called the leaders together and angrily asked them, “Why is the temple neglected?” Then I told them to start doing their jobs. 12 t After this, everyone in Judah brought a tenth of their grain, wine, and olive oil to the temple storeroom.
13 Finally, I appointed three men with good reputations to be in charge of what was brought there and to distribute it to the others. They were Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the teacher of the Law, and Pedaiah the Levite. Their assistant was Hanan, the son of Zaccur and the grandson of Mattaniah.
14 I pray that my God will remember these good things that I have done for his temple and for those who worship there.The Sabbath
15 t I also noticed what the people of Judah were doing on the Sabbath. Not only were they trampling grapes to make wine, but they were harvesting their grain, grapes, figs, and other crops, and then loading these on donkeys to sell in Jerusalem. So I warned them not to sell food on the Sabbath. 16 People who had moved to Jerusalem from the city of Tyre were bringing in fish and other things to sell there on the Sabbath. 17 I got angry and said to the leaders of Judah, “This evil you are doing is an insult to the Sabbath!
18 Didn't God punish us and this city because our ancestors did these very same things? And here you are, about to make God furious again by disgracing the Sabbath!”
19 I ordered the gates of Jerusalem to be closed on the eve of the Sabbatht and not to be opened until after the Sabbath had ended. Then I put some of my own men in charge of the gates to make certain that nothing was brought in on the Sabbath. 20 Once or twice some merchants spent the night outside Jerusalem with their goods. 21 But I warned them, “If you do this again, I'll have you arrested.” From then on, they did not come on the Sabbath.
22 I ordered the Levites to make themselves holy and to guard the gates on the Sabbath, so that it would be kept holy.
God is truly merciful, and I pray that he will treat me with kindness and bless me for doing this.Mixed Marriages
23 t I discovered that some Jewish men had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 About half of their children could not speak Hebrew—they spoke only the language of Ashdod or some other foreign language.
25 So in my anger, I called down curses on those men. I had them beaten and even pulled out the hair of some of them. Then I made them promise:
In the name of God we solemnly promise not to let our sons and daughters marry foreigners. 26 t God dearly loved King Solomon of Israel and made him the greatest king on earth, but Solomon's foreign wives led him into sin.
27 So we will obey you and not rebel against our God by marrying foreign women.
28 t Jehoiada, the son of the high priest Eliashib, had a son who had married a daughter of Sanballat from Horon, t and I forced his son to leave.
29 I pray that God will punish them for breaking their priestly vows and disgracing the Levi tribe.
30 Then I made sure that the people were free from every foreign influence, and I assigned duties for the priests and Levites.
31 I also arranged for the people to bring firewood to the altar each day and for them to bring the first part of their harvest to the temple.
I pray that God will bless me for the good I have done.
