New International Version
Nehemiah 13:3
3When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)When this passage of the Law was read, all those of foreign descent were immediately excluded from the assembly.
Context of Nehemiah 13:3
1On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, 2because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent. 4Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 5and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions 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, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Psalms 119:9How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.
- Proverbs 6:23For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life,
- Romans 3:20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
- Nehemiah 9:2Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.
- Nehemiah 10:28“The rest of the people—priests, Levites, gatekeepers, musicians, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand—
- Ezra 10:11Now honor the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.”
- James 1:27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
- Exodus 12:38Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
- Numbers 11:4The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing 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
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Commentaries