Nehemiah 13

1 In that day they read in the book of Moses in the ears of the people; and it was found written in it, that the Ammonites and Moabites should not enter into the congregation of God for ever;

On that day, when someone read to the people parts of the laws [that God gave] to Moses, they read where it was written that no one from the Ammon people-group or the Moab people-group was ever to be allowed to be with God’s people while they were gathered together [to worship].

2 because they met not the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them: but our God turned the curse into a blessing.

The reason for that was that the people of Ammon and the people of Moab did not give/sell any food or water to the Israelis [while the Israelis were going through their areas after they left Egypt]. Instead, the people of Ammon and Moab paid money to Balaam in order that he would curse the Israelis. But God commanded Balaam to bless the people, not to curse them.

3 And it came to pass, when they heard the law, that they were separated, [even] every alien in Israel.

So when the people heard these laws [being read to them], they sent away all the people whose ancestors had come from other countries.

4 And before this time Eliasib the priest lived in the treasury of the house of our God, connected with Tobias;

Previously, Eliashib the priest had been appointed to be in charge of the storerooms in the temple. He was a relative of [our enemy] Tobiah.

5 and he made himself a great treasury, and there they were formerly in the habit of bestowing the offerings, and the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithe of the corn, and the wine, and the oil, the ordered portion of the Levites, and singers, and porters; and the first fruits of the priests.

He allowed Tobiah to use a large room in which they had previously stored the grain offerings and the incense, the equipment that is used in the temple, the offerings [that the people had brought] for the priests, and the tithes of grain and wine and [olive] oil that [God] had commanded the people to bring to the [other] descendants of Levi, and to the temple musicians, and to the temple guards.

6 But in all this [time] I was not in Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Arthasastha king of Babylon I came to the king, and after a certain time I made my request of the king;

While [Tobias was using that room], I was not in Jerusalem, because in the 32nd year that Artaxerxes was the king of Babylonia, I went back there to report to him. After a while I requested the king to allow me to return to Jerusalem, [and he allowed me to go].

7 and I came to Jerusalem, and I understood the mischief which Eliasib had done in the case of Tobias, in making for him a treasury in the court of the house of God.

When I arrived in Jerusalem, I found out that Eliashib had done an evil thing by allowing Tobiah to use a room in God’s temple.

8 And it appeared very evil to me: so I cast forth all the furniture of the house of Tobias from the treasury.

I became very angry, and I threw out of that room everything that belonged to Tobiah.

9 And I gave orders, and they purified the treasuries: and I restored there the vessels of the house of God, [and] the offerings, and the frankincense.

Then I commanded [that they perform a ritual] to make the rooms (pure/acceptable to God) again. And I also ordered that all the equipment used in the temple and all the grain offerings and incense should be put in that room again.

10 And I understood that the portion of the Levites had not been given: and they had fled every one to his field, the Levites and the singers doing the work.

I also found out that the temple musicians and [other] descendants of Levi had left Jerusalem and returned to their fields/farms, because the Israeli people had not been bringing to them the food [that they needed].

11 And I strove with the commanders, and said, Therefore has the house of God been abandoned? and I assembled them, and set them in their place.

So I rebuked the officials, saying to them, “(Why have you not taken care of the work in the temple?/It is disgraceful that you have not taken care of the work in the temple.)” [RHQ] So I brought the descendants of Levi and the musicians back to the temple, and told them to do their work there again.

12 And all Juda brought a tithe of the wheat and the wine and the oil into the treasuries,

Then all the people of Judah again started to bring to the temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and [olive] oil.

13 to the charge of Selemia the priest, and Sadoc the scribe, and Phadaea of the Levites: and next to them [was] Anan the son of Zacchur, son of Matthanias; for they were accounted faithful: [it was] their office to distribute to their brethren.

I appointed these men to be in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah, who was a priest; Zadok, who knew the Jewish laws very well; and Pedaiah, a descendant of Levi. I appointed Hanan, who is the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah, to assist them. I knew that I could trust these men while they distributed those offerings to their fellow workers.

14 Remember me, O God, in this, and let not my kindness be forgotten which I have wrought in [regard to] the house of the Lord God.

My God, do not forget all these good things that I have faithfully done for your temple and for the work that is done there!

15 In those days I saw in Juda [men] treading wine presses on the sabbath, and carrying sheaves, and loading asses with both wine, and grapes, and figs, and every [kind of] burden, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the sabbath-day:

During that time, I saw some people in Judea [who were working] on the Sabbath day. [Some were] pressing grapes [to make wine]. Others were putting grain, [bags of] wine, [baskets of] grapes, figs, and many [HYP] other things, on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem. I warned them that they should not sell things to the people of Judea on Sabbath days.

16 and I testified in the day of their sale. Also their lived in it [men] bringing fish, and selling every [kind of] merchandise to the children of Juda and in Jerusalem on the sabbath.

I also saw some people from Tyre [city] who were living there in Jerusalem who were bringing fish and other things [into Jerusalem] to sell to the people of Judea on the Sabbath day.

17 And I strove with the free children of Juda, and said to them, What [is] this evil thing which you do, and profane the sabbath-day?

So I rebuked the Jewish leaders and told them, “This is [RHQ] a very evil thing that you are doing! You are causing the Sabbath days to be unholy.

18 Did not your fathers thus, and our God brought upon them and upon us and upon this city all these evils? and do you bring additional wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath?

Your ancestors did [RHQ] things like that, so God punished them, and as a result, this city was destroyed! And now by causing the Sabbath day to be unholy, you are going to cause God to be angry with us Israeli people [and punish us] more!”

19 And it came to pass, when the gates were set up in Jerusalem, before the sabbath, that I spoke, and they shut the gates; and I gave orders that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and I set [some] of my servants at the gates, that none should bring [in] burdens on the sabbath-day.

So I ordered that at (the beginning of every Sabbath day/every Friday evening) they should shut the gates of the city before it became dark. I also ordered that they should not open the gates until (the Sabbath day was ended [the next day]/Saturday evening). Then [each Sabbath day] I put some of my men at the gates, so they would make sure that nothing to sell was brought into the city on that day.

20 So all [the merchants] lodged, and carried on traffic without Jerusalem once or twice.

One or two times merchants [DOU] stayed outside of the city on (Friday night/[the night before the Sabbath day]).

21 Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why do you lodge in front of the wall? if you do so again, I will stretch out my hand upon you. From that time they came not on the sabbath.

I warned them, “It is useless [RHQ] for you to stay here outside the walls [on Friday night]! If you do this again, I will tell my men to arrest you!” So after that, they did not come on Sabbath days.

22 and I told the Levites who were purifying themselves, and came and kept the gates, that they should sanctify the sabbath-day. Remember me, O God, for these things, and spare me according to the abundance of your mercy.

I also commanded the descendants of Levi to [perform the ritual to] purify themselves and to guard the city gates, to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy [by not allowing merchants to enter it on Sabbath days]. My God, do not forget this also that I [have done for you]! And because of your faithfully loving me, allow me to continue to live [many more years]!

23 And in those days I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, [and] of Moab:

During that time, I also found out that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod [city], and from [the] Ammon and Moab [people-groups].

24 and their children spoke half in the language of Ashdod, and did not know how to speak in the Jewish language.

The result was that half of their children spoke the language that people in Ashdod speak or some other language, and they didn’t know how to speak our language.

25 And I strove with them and cursed them; and I struck some of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, [saying, ]You shall not give your daughters to their sons, and you shall not take of their daughters to your sons.

So I rebuked those men, and I [asked God to] curse them, and I beat them and pulled out [some of] their hair. Then I forced them to solemnly promise, knowing that God [MTY] was [listening], that they would never again marry foreigners, and never allow their children to marry foreigners.

26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin thus? though there was no king like him among many nations, and he was beloved of God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet strange women turned him aside.

[I said to them], “Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned [RHQ] as a result of [marrying] foreign women. He was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him, and caused him to become the king of all the Israeli people, but his foreign wives caused even him to sin.

27 So we will not listen to you to do all this evil, to break covenant with our God, —to marry strange wives.

[Do you think that] we should do what you have done, and disobey our God by marrying foreign women [who worship idols]? [RHQ]”

28 and Elisub the high priest, [one] of the sons of Joada, [being] son-in-law of Sanaballat the Uranite, I chased him away from me.

One of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the Supreme Priest, had married the daughter of [our enemy] Sanballat, from Beth-Horon [town]. So I forced Jehoiada’s son to leave Jerusalem.

29 Remember them, O God, for their [false] connection with the priesthood, and [the breaking] the covenant of the priesthood, and [for defiling] the Levites.

My God, do not forget that those people [who have married foreign women] have caused it to be a shame/disgrace to be a priest, and have caused people to despise the agreement that you made with the priests and with the [other] descendants of Levi [who help the priests])!

30 So I purged them from all foreign connection, and established courses for the priests and the Levites, [every] man according to his work.

I did all that to make sure that there were no more foreign people among the [Israeli] people [who would encourage them to worship idols]. I also established regulations for the priests and [other] descendants of Levi, in order that they would know what work they should do.

31 And the offering of the wood-bearers [was] at certain set times, and in the [times of the] first fruits. Remember me, O our God, for good.

I also arranged for people to bring the firewood [that was needed to burn on the altar, as Moses had declared] that we should [do]. I also arranged for the people to bring the first part of what they harvested [each year]. My God, do not forget [that] I [have done all these things], and bless me [for doing them]!