New International Version
Nehemiah 13:22
22Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.
Nehemiah 13:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the gates in order to preserve the holiness of the Sabbath. Remember this good deed also, O my God! Have compassion on me according to your great and unfailing love.
Context of Nehemiah 13:22
20Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. 21But 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. Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love. 23Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah.
Read all of Nehemiah 13Nehemiah 13:22 word by word
וָאֹמְרָ֣ה לַלְוִיִּ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִֽהְי֤וּ מִֽטַּהֲרִים֙ וּבָאִים֙ שֹׁמְרִ֣ים הַשְּׁעָרִ֔ים לְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֑ת גַּם־זֹאת֙ זָכְרָה־לִּ֣י אֱלֹהַ֔י וְח֥וּסָה עָלַ֖י כְּרֹ֥ב חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And I commandedאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Levitesלֵוִיlêvîyîy lêvîy · LeviH3881
- that they should cleanseטָהֵרţâhêr · be pureH2891
- they should comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
- the gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
- to sanctifyקָדַשׁqâdash · to consecrate: consecateH6942
- the sabbathשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676
- dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- Rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- me, O my Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- this also, and spareחוּסchûs · to pityH2347
- me according to the greatnessרֹבrôb · abundanceH7230
- of thy mercyחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
Cross-references for Nehemiah 13:22
- Nehemiah 7:64These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
- Nehemiah 12:30When the priests and Levites had purified themselves ceremonially, they purified the people, the gates and the wall.
- 2 Kings 23:4The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel.
- 1 Chronicles 15:12He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.
- 2 Chronicles 29:4He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side
- Isaiah 49:23Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
- Nehemiah 12:10Joshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada,
- Deuteronomy 5:12“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you.
- Nehemiah 13:14Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.
- Nehemiah 5:19Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people.
- Psalms 132:1Lord, remember David and all his self-denial.
- Isaiah 38:3“Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
- 2 Corinthians 1:12Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.
- 2 Timothy 4:7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
- Psalms 25:6Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
- Psalms 51:1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Commentaries on Nehemiah 13:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy - By some Nehemiah has been thought to deal with God too much on the principle of merit. That he wished God to remember him for good, is sufficiently evident; and who does not wish the same? But that he expected heaven because of his good deeds, does not appear. Indeed, the concluding clause of this verse proves the contrary, and shows that he expected nothing from God but through the greatness of his…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22I commanded the Levites - At first Nehemiah had employed his own retinue Nehemiah 13:19 in the work of keeping the gates. He now assigned the duty to the Levites, as one which properly belonged to them, since the object of the regulation was the due observance of the Sabbath.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. 22show me mercy: Nehemiah's prayer suggests he felt the pressure of this unpopular decision. He knew God's unfailing love, not his popularity, would sustain him.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 13:22
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
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