Nehemiah 13

Foreigners Excluded

1On that day the Book of Moses was 1read aloud 2as the people listened; and there was found written in it that 3no Ammonite or Moabite was ever to enter the assembly of God, 2because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but 4hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, 5our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3So when they heard the Law, 6they excluded 7all foreigners from Israel.

Tobiah Expelled and the Temple Cleansed

4Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, 8who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being 9related to 10Tobiah, 5had prepared a large 11room for him, where previously they used to put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil 12prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the 13contributions for the priests. 6But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in 14the thirty-second year of 15Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had come to the king. After some time, however, I requested a leave of absence from the king, 7and I came to Jerusalem and 16learned about the evil that Eliashib had committed for 17Tobiah, 18by preparing a 19room for him in the courtyards of the house of God. 8It was very displeasing to me, so I 20threw all of Tobiah’s household articles out of the room. 9Then I gave an order, and 21they cleansed the rooms; and I returned the utensils of the house of God there with the grain offering and the frankincense.

Tithes Restored

10I also 22discovered that 23the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so the Levites and the singers who performed the service had 24gone away, 25each to his own field. 11So I 2627reprimanded the officials and said, “28Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts. 12All Judah then brought 29the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13To be in charge of the storehouses, I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for 30they were considered reliable, and it was 31their task to distribute to their kinsmen. 1432Remember me for this, my God, and do not wipe out my loyal deeds which I have performed for the house of my God and its services.

Sabbath Restored

15In those days I saw in Judah people who were treading wine presses 33on the Sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and every kind of load, 34and they were bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So 35I admonished them on the day they sold food. 16Also people of Tyre were living 36there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem. 17Then 37I 38reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, 39by profaning the Sabbath day? 1840Did your fathers not do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

19And 41it came about that just as it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered that the doors be shut, 42and that they were not to open them until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the Sabbath day. 20Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. 21Then 43I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will 44use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22And I ordered the Levites that 45they were to purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the Sabbath day. For this also 46remember me, my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your mercy.

Mixed Marriages Forbidden

23In those days I also saw that the Jews had 4748married women from 49Ashdod, 50Ammon, and Moab. 24As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them knew how to speak the language of Judah, but 51only the language of his own people. 25So 52I quarreled with them and cursed them, and 53struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and 54made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 2655Did Solomon the king of Israel not sin regarding these things? 56Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and 57he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet the foreign women caused even him to sin. 27Has it not then been reported about you that you have committed all this great evil 58by acting unfaithfully against our God, by 59marrying foreign women?” 28Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, became a son-in-law of 60Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me. 2961Remember them, my God, 62because they have defiled the priesthood and the 63covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

3064So I purified them from everything foreign, and assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each in his work, 31and I arranged 65for the delivery of wood at appointed times and for the first fruits. 66Remember me, my God, for good.