New Living Translation
Nehemiah 13:15
15In those days I saw men of Judah treading out their winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath. So I rebuked them for selling their produce on that day.
Nehemiah 13:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.
- New International Version (NIV)In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day.
- English Standard Version (ESV)In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food.
- New King James Version (NKJV)In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions.
Context of Nehemiah 13:15
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. 14Remember this good deed, O my God, and do not forget all that I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God and its services. In those days I saw men of Judah treading out their winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath. So I rebuked them for selling their produce on that day. 16Some men from Tyre, who lived in Jerusalem, were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise. They were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah—and in Jerusalem at that! 17So I confronted the nobles of Judah. “Why are you profaning the Sabbath in this evil way?” I asked.
Read all of Nehemiah 13Nehemiah 13:15 word by word
בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֡מָּה רָאִ֣יתִי בִֽיהוּדָ֣ה׀ דֹּֽרְכִֽים־גִּתּ֣וֹת׀ בַּשַּׁבָּ֡ת וּמְבִיאִ֣ים הָעֲרֵמ֣וֹת וְֽעֹמְסִ֪ים עַל־הַחֲמֹרִ֟ים וְאַף־יַ֜יִן עֲנָבִ֤ים וּתְאֵנִים֙ וְכָל־מַשָּׂ֔א וּמְבִיאִ֥ים יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם בְּי֣וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֑ת וָאָעִ֕יד בְּי֖וֹם מִכְרָ֥ם צָֽיִד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- In those daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- I in Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- treadingדָּרַךְdârak · to treadH1869
- wine pressesגַּתgath · wine pressH1660
- on the sabbathשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676
- and bringing inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- sheavesעֲרֵמָה‛ârêm ‛ărêmâh · heapH6194
- and ladingעָמַס‛âmas ‛âmaώ · loadH6006
- assesחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
- as also wineיַ֫יִןyayin · wineH3196
- grapesעֵנָב‛ênâb · grapeH6025
- and figsתְּאֵנָהte'ên te'ênâh · figH8384
- burdensמַשָּׂאmaώώâ' · burdenH4853
- into Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
- and I testifiedעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
- wherein they soldמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
- victualsצַ֫יִדtsayid · foodH6718
Cross-references for Nehemiah 13:15
- Exodus 20:8“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Exodus 34:21“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.
- Exodus 35:2You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death.
- Isaiah 58:13“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
- Ezekiel 20:13“But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days. So I threatened to pour out my fury on them, and I made plans to utterly consume them in the wilderness.
- Nehemiah 10:31“We also promise that if the people of the land should bring any merchandise or grain to be sold on the Sabbath or on any other holy day, we will refuse to buy it. Every seventh year we will let our land rest, and we will cancel all debts owed to us.
- Numbers 15:32One day while the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they discovered a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
- Jeremiah 17:21This is what the Lord says: Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day.
- Nehemiah 13:21But I spoke sharply to them and said, “What are you doing out here, camping around the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you!” And that was the last time they came on the Sabbath.
- Nehemiah 9:29“You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen.
- Deuteronomy 8:19“But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed.
- 2 Chronicles 24:19Yet the Lord sent prophets to bring them back to him. The prophets warned them, but still the people would not listen.
- Psalms 50:7“O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God!
- Jeremiah 42:19“Listen, you remnant of Judah. The Lord has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today.
- Micah 6:3“O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me!
- Acts 2:40Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
Commentaries on Nehemiah 13:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Treading wine-presses - The Sabbath appears to have been totally disregarded.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15The desecration of the Sabbath is first brought into prominence among the sins of the Jewish people by Jeremiah Jeremiah 17:21-27. It could not but have gained ground during the captivity, when foreign masters would not have allowed the cessation of labor for one day in seven. On the return from the captivity, the sabbatical rest appears to have been one of the institutions most difficult to re-establish. In the day - Some render, “concerning the day.”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. 15-16People were to stop working on the Sabbath to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8–11; 31:14–17; 35:2–3; Jeremiah 17:19–27).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 13:15
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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