New English Translation
Nehemiah 13:3
3When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry.
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 aloud in the hearing of the people. They found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God, 2for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.) When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry. 4But prior to this time, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been appointed over the storerooms of the temple of our God. 5He made for himself a large storeroom where previously they had been keeping the grain offering, the incense, and the vessels, along with the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil as commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gate keepers, and the offering for the priests.
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 law of the Lord is perfect and preserves one’s life. The rules set down by the Lord are reliable and impart wisdom to the inexperienced.
- Psalms 119:9How can a young person maintain a pure life? By guarding it according to your instructions!
- Proverbs 6:23For the commandments are like a lamp, instruction is like a light, and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life,
- Romans 3:20For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
- Nehemiah 9:2Those truly of Israelite descent separated from all the foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
- Nehemiah 10:28“Now the rest of the people – the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple attendants, and all those who have separated themselves from the neighboring peoples because of the law of God, along with their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all of whom are able to understand –
- Ezra 10:11Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents and from these foreign wives.”
- James 1:27Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
- Exodus 12:38A mixed multitude also went up with them, and flocks and herds – a very large number of cattle.
- Numbers 11:4Now the mixed multitude who were among them craved more desirable foods, and so the Israelites wept 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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries