God’s Word Translation
Nehemiah 13:3
3After the people heard this Teaching, they separated the non-Israelites from the Israelites.
Nehemiah 13:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.
- New International Version (NIV)When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
- English Standard Version (ESV)As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
Context of Nehemiah 13:3
1On that day the Book of Moses was read while the people were listening. They heard the passage that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into God’s assembly. 2(After all, they didn’t welcome the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. But our God turned the curse into a blessing.) After the people heard this Teaching, they separated the non-Israelites from the Israelites. 4Even before this, the priest Eliashib, who was related to Tobiah and had been put in charge of the storerooms of our God’s temple, 5had provided a large room for Tobiah. Previously, this room had been used to store grain offerings, incense, utensils, a tenth of all the grain harvested, new wine, and olive oil. These things belonged by law to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers. The contributions for the priests had also been stored there.
Read all of Nehemiah 13Nehemiah 13:3 word by word
וַיְהִ֖י כְּשָׁמְעָ֣ם אֶת־הַתּוֹרָ֑ה וַיַּבְדִּ֥ילוּ כָל־עֵ֖רֶב מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Nehemiah 13:3
- Psalms 19:7The teachings of the Lord are perfect. They renew the soul. The testimony of the Lord is dependable. It makes gullible people wise.
- Psalms 119:9How can a young person keep his life pure? ⌞He can do it⌟ by holding on to your word.
- Proverbs 6:23because the command is a lamp, the teachings are a light, and the warnings from discipline are the path of life
- Romans 3:20Not one person can have God’s approval by any effort to follow the laws in the Scriptures. These laws show what sin is.
- Nehemiah 9:2Those who were descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood and confessed their sins as well as the wicked things their ancestors had done.
- Nehemiah 10:28The rest of the people took an oath. These people included the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the inhabitants of the land for the sake of God’s Teachings. Their wives, sons, daughters, and everyone who is capable of understanding also took an oath.
- Ezra 10:11Confess to the Lord God of your ancestors what you have done, and do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of this land and from your foreign wives.”
- James 1:27Pure, unstained religion, according to God our Father, is to take care of orphans and widows when they suffer and to remain uncorrupted by this world.
- Exodus 12:38Many other people also went with them, along with large numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle.
- Numbers 11:4Some foreigners among the Israelites had a strong craving for ⌞other kinds of⌟ food. Even the Israelites started crying again and said, “If only we had meat to eat!
Commentaries on Nehemiah 13:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3They separated from Israel all the mixed multitude - They excluded all strange women, and all persons, young and old, who had been born of these illegal connections.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3A separation like that made by Ezra, some 20 years previously Ezra 10:15-44, seems to be intended. The pagan wives were divorced and sent back, with their offspring, to their own countries.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3On the same day the temple workers were appointed (Nehemiah 12:44), the text from Deuteronomy 23:3–6 was read. It stated that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God. Nehemiah later discovered (Nehemiah 13:4–14) that people were no longer following these teachings.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-91. On that day--This was not immediately consequent on the dedication of the city wall and gates, but after Nehemiah's return from the Persian court to Jerusalem, his absence having extended over a considerable period. The transaction here described probably took place on one of the periodical occasions for the public readings of the law, when the people's attention was particularly directed to some violations of it which called for immediate correction…Read the comment
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries