Nehemiah 13:21

Nehemiah 13:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.
• New International Version (NIV)But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But I warned them and said to them, "Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.

Context of Nehemiah 13:21

19So I gave a command to the guards at the city's gates. I told them, ‘You must close the gates in the evening before each Sabbath day begins. Do not open the gates again until the Sabbath day has finished.’ I told some of my own men to stand at the gates. They would watch carefully so that no traders would bring things into Jerusalem on any Sabbath day. 20A few times, some traders stayed outside Jerusalem all night, with the things that they wanted to sell. I warned them, ‘Do not stay beside the city's wall all night. If you do this again, I will take hold of you.’ After I said that, they did not come again to Jerusalem on a Sabbath day. 22Then I told the Levites that they must make themselves ready to serve God. I told them to go and stand at the gates as guards. They must keep the Sabbath day as a special day for God. My God, please remember this good thing that I have done. Because of your faithful love, please be kind to me. 23Also at that time, I discovered that men from Judah had married foreign women. They were women who came from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.

Nehemiah 13:21 word by word

וָאָעִ֣ידָה בָהֶ֗ם וָאֹמְרָ֤ה אֲלֵיהֶם֙ מַדּ֜וּעַ אַתֶּ֤ם לֵנִים֙ נֶ֣גֶד הַחוֹמָ֔ה אִם־תִּשְׁנ֕וּ יָ֖ד אֶשְׁלַ֣ח בָּכֶ֑ם מִן־הָעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔יא לֹא־בָ֖אוּ בַּשַּׁבָּֽת׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then I testifiedעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
• against them, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, Why lodgeלוּןlûn lîyn · to lodgeH3885
• ye aboutנֶ֫גֶדneged · beforeH5048
• the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
• againשָׁנָהshânâh · to repeatH8138
• I will layשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: reachH7971
• handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• on you. From that timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• forth cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• on the sabbathשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676

Cross-references for Nehemiah 13:21

• Nehemiah 13:15In those days, I saw people in Judah who were working on Sabbath days. They were making wine. They were bringing their grain from the fields. They were making their donkeys carry the grain, as well as wine, grapes, figs and other things. They were bringing all those things into Jerusalem when it was a Sabbath day. I warned them that they must not sell things on any Sabbath day.
• Ezra 7:26Everyone must obey the laws of your God and also the laws of the king. If they do not obey, they deserve the right punishment. They may have to die. They may have to leave the country. They may have to lose their valuable things. They may have to go to prison.’
• Romans 13:3People who do good things do not need to be afraid of the rulers. Only people who do bad things should be afraid of the rulers. Do you want to live and not be afraid of the rulers? Then you must do good things and they will respect you.
• 1 Peter 2:14Also obey the officers that serve the king. He has sent them to punish people who do bad things. And they praise people who do good things.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 13:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21I will lay hands on you - I will imprison every man of you. This had the desired effect; they came no more.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21The lodging of the merchants with their merchandise just outside Jerusalem during the Sabbath, marked their impatience for the moment when they might bring their wares in. This was thought by Nehemiah to be unseemly, and to have an irreligious tendency.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 The keeping holy the Lord's day forms an important object for their attention who would promote true godliness. Religion never prospers while sabbaths are trodden under foot. No wonder there was a general decay of religion, and corruption of manners among the Jews, when they forsook the sanctuary and profaned the sabbath. Those little consider what an evil they do, who profane the sabbath. We must answer for the sins others are led to commit…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-31Nehemiah made two more changes to bring back correct Sabbath observance (Nehemiah 13:15–22) and correct marriage practices (13:23–31). These two sections follow a similar pattern: Nehemiah found a problem, fixed it, and then asked God for a blessing.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-3115-22. In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the sabbath--The cessation of the temple services had been necessarily followed by a public profanation of the Sabbath, and this had gone so far that labor was carried on in the fields, and fish brought to the markets on the sacred day. Nehemiah took the decisive step of ordering the city gates to be shut, and not to be opened, till the Sabbath was past; and in order to ensure the faithful…Read the comment

Topics related to Nehemiah 13:21

• Harvest
• Sabbath
• Traffic
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Contend
• Outlandish
• Testify
• Understand
• Buying
• Commerce
• Sabbath
• Sanctification

Commentaries on Nehemiah 13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings