New Living Translation
Nehemiah 13:11
11I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties.
Nehemiah 13:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place.
- New International Version (NIV)So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So I confronted the officials and said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them together and set them in their stations.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place.
Context of Nehemiah 13:11
9Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense. 10I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields. I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. 12And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms. 13I assigned supervisors for the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites. And I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites.
Read all of Nehemiah 13Nehemiah 13:11 word by word
וָאָרִ֙יבָה֙ אֶת־הַסְּגָנִ֔ים וָאֹ֣מְרָ֔ה מַדּ֖וּעַ נֶעֱזַ֣ב בֵּית־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וָֽאֶ֨קְבְּצֵ֔ם וָֽאַעֲמִדֵ֖ם עַל־עָמְדָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then contendedרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
- I with the rulersסָגָןsâgân · rulerH5461
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Why is the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- forsakenעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: neglectH5800
- And I gathered them togetherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- and setעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- them in their placeעֹ֫מֶד‛ômed · postH5977
Cross-references for Nehemiah 13:11
- Nehemiah 13:17So I confronted the nobles of Judah. “Why are you profaning the Sabbath in this evil way?” I asked.
- Nehemiah 5:6When I heard their complaints, I was very angry.
- Job 31:34Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?
- Proverbs 28:4To reject the law is to praise the wicked; to obey the law is to fight them.
- Nehemiah 10:39The people and the Levites must bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the storerooms and place them in the sacred containers near the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. “We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God.”
- 1 Samuel 2:17So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.
- Malachi 3:8“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.
Commentaries on Nehemiah 13:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Why is the house of God forsaken? - They had all solemnly promised, Nehemiah 10:39, that they would never forsake the house of their God; but, alas, how soon is this forgotten! Nehemiah used their own words here by way of reproof.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11I gathered them together - Nehemiah gathered the Levites from their lands, and reinstated them in their set offices.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-14Verses 10-14 If a sacred character will not keep men from setting an evil example, it must not shelter any one from deserved blame and punishment. The Levites had been wronged; their portions had not been given them. They were gone to get livelihoods for themselves and their families, for their profession would not maintain them. A maintenance not sufficient, makes a poor ministry. The work is neglected, because the workmen are. Nehemiah laid the fault…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-12Because Tobiah used the storeroom, there was no space to store tithes for feeding the Levites and temple singers (Numbers 18:21–24; see Nehemiah 12:44, 47). They had to farm outside Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12:28–29) to support themselves and could not serve in the temple.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1410-13. And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them--The people, disgusted with the malversations of Eliashib, or the lax and irregular performance of the sacred rites, withheld the tithes, so that the ministers of religion were compelled for their livelihood to withdraw to their patrimonial possessions in the country. The temple services had ceased; all religious duties had fallen into neglect. The money put into the sacred…Read the comment
Topics related to Nehemiah 13:11
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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