Nehemiah 13:25

Nehemiah 13:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.
• New International Version (NIV)I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.

Context of Nehemiah 13:25

23In those days I saw some Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24Half their children spoke the language of Ashdod or one of the other languages, but they couldn’t understand the language of Judah well enough to speak it. So I reprimanded those Jews, cursed them, beat some of them, and pulled out their hair. I made them swear by God: “We won’t allow our daughters to marry their sons, and we won’t allow their daughters to marry us or our sons.” 26I said, “Wasn’t it because of marriages like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? There wasn’t a king like him among all nations. God loved him, and God made him king of all Israel. But his non-Israelite wives led him to sin. 27Should we follow your example, commit such a serious crime against our God, and be unfaithful to him by marrying non-Israelite women?”

Nehemiah 13:25 word by word

וָאָרִ֤יב עִמָּם֙ וָאֲקַֽלְלֵ֔ם וָאַכֶּ֥ה מֵהֶ֛ם אֲנָשִׁ֖ים וָֽאֶמְרְטֵ֑ם וָאַשְׁבִּיעֵ֣ם בֵּֽאלֹהִ֗ים אִם־תִּתְּנ֤וּ בְנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ לִבְנֵיהֶ֔ם וְאִם־תִּשְׂאוּ֙ מִבְּנֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם לִבְנֵיכֶ֖ם וְלָכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And I contendedרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• with them, and cursedקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
• them, and smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• certainאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• of them, and plucked off their hairמָרַטmâraţ · to smoothH4803
• and made them swearשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• by Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• Ye shall not giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: give(marriage)H5414
• your daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• unto their sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• nor takeנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: marryH5375

Cross-references for Nehemiah 13:25

• Nehemiah 13:11I reprimanded the leaders. “Why is God’s temple being neglected?” I asked. So I brought the Levites back together and put them back in their places of service.
• Proverbs 28:4Those who abandon ⌞God’s⌟ teachings praise wicked people, but those who follow ⌞God’s⌟ teachings oppose wicked people.
• Nehemiah 5:13I brushed off my clothes and said, “In the same way, may God brush off from home and work everyone who refuses to keep this promise. In the same way, may everyone be brushed off and left with nothing.” Then the whole congregation said amen and praised the Lord. The people did what they had promised.
• Deuteronomy 27:14The Levites will declare to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:
• Psalms 15:4The one who despises those rejected by God but honors those who fear the Lord. The one who makes a promise and does not break it, even though he is hurt by it.
• Luke 11:45One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings said to him, “Teacher, when you talk this way, you insult us too.”
• Deuteronomy 25:2If the person who’s in the wrong deserves to be beaten, the judge will order him to lie down. Then the judge will have him beaten with as many lashes as the crime deserves.
• Ezra 7:26Whoever will not strictly follow your God’s Teachings and the king’s orders should be promptly exiled, have his goods confiscated, be imprisoned or be sentenced to die.
• Isaiah 50:6I will offer my back to those who whip me and my cheeks to those who pluck hairs out of my beard. I will not turn my face away from those who humiliate me and spit on me.
• Nehemiah 10:29They joined their relatives, the nobles, in binding themselves with a curse and an oath to follow God’s teachings given by Moses, God’s servant. They also bound themselves to follow all the commandments, rules, and regulations of the Lord our Lord.
• Deuteronomy 6:13You must fear the Lord your God, serve him, and take your oaths only in his name.
• 2 Chronicles 15:12They made an agreement with one another to dedicate their lives to serving the Lord God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul.
• Ezra 10:5Then Ezra got up and made the leaders, priests, Levites, and all the rest of Israel swear to do what they had said. So they took an oath.
• Exodus 34:16Then your sons will end up marrying their daughters. When their daughters chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes, they’ll lead your sons to do the same thing.
• Deuteronomy 7:3Never marry any of them. Never let your daughters marry their sons or your sons marry their daughters.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 13:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25I contended with them - Proved the fact against these iniquitous fathers, in a legal assembly. And cursed them - Denounced the judgments of God and the sentence of the law upon them. Smote certain of them - Had them punished by whipping. And plucked off their hair - Had them shaven, as a mark of the greatest ignominy. And made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give - Caused them to bind themselves by an oath, that they would make no intermarriages…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-31Verses 23-31 If either parent be ungodly, corrupt nature will incline the children to take after that one; which is a strong reason why Christians should not be unequally yoked. In the education of children, great care should be taken about the government of their tongues; that they learn not the language of Ashdod, no impious or impure talk, no corrupt communication. Nehemiah showed the evil of these marriages. Some, more obstinate than the rest, he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25Nehemiah cursed them because the parents avoided Hebrew and did not teach their children the language of the Hebrew Bible. A curse asked God to remove his blessing from people. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair: Some men did not accept Nehemiah’s rebuke at first, so he made them swear in the name of God not to marry pagans.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. cursed them--that is, pronounced on them an anathema which entailed excommunication. smote ... and plucked off their hair--To cut off the hair of offenders seems to be a punishment rather disgraceful than severe; yet it is supposed that pain was added to disgrace, and that they tore off the hair with violence as if they were plucking a bird alive.Read the comment

Topics related to Nehemiah 13:25

• Divorce
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Contend
• Hittites
• Outlandish
• Testify
• Understand
• Genealogy
• Hair
• Peel; Pill

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