Nehemiah / Nehemiah's Final Reforms and Purification

Nehemiah's Final Reforms and Purification

Nehemiah 13:1-31

Chapter 13

¹ On that day they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and it was found written in it that the Ammonite and the Moabite shall not enter the assembly of God forever. ² for they did not come before the sons of Israel with bread and water, and hired Balaam against him to curse him, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ And when they heard the Torah, they separated every Arab from Israel. ⁴ And before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over a chamber in the house of our God and was a close relative of Tobiah, had prepared it. ⁵ And he made for himself a great Temple chamber, and there they had formerly been giving the offering, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil, commandments of the Levites and the singers, the gatekeepers, and the contribution of the Priests. ⁶ And during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I came to the king, and at the end of days I requested leave from the king. ⁷ And I came to Jerusalem, and I understood the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, making for him a chamber in the court of the temple of God. ⁸ And it was very evil to me, and I threw out all the vessels of the house of Tobiah outside from the chamber. ⁹ And I purified the Temple chambers, and I restored there the vessels of the Temple of God, the offering, and the frankincense. ¹⁰ And I found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given, and the Levites and the singers who did the service had fled, each to his field. ¹¹ And I confronted the officials with a judicial controversy, and I said, "Why has the house of God been left?" And I gathered them and stationed them at their posts. ¹² And all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the treasuries. ¹³ And treasurer over the treasuries: Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe and Pedaiah from the Levites, and over their hand Hanan son of Zaccur son of Mattaniah, for faithful ones they were accounted, and upon them to divide to their brothers. ¹⁴ Remember me, O God, for this, and do not wipe out my acts of divine steadfast love and loyalty that I have performed for the house of God and for its services. ¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah winepresses being trodden on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, and figs, and every burden, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath. And I testified on the day of their selling game. ¹⁶ And the Tyrians dwelt in it, bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and wares on the Sabbath to the sons of Judah and in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?" ¹⁸ Did not your fathers do thus, and our God brought all this evil upon us and upon this city? And you are adding fierceness upon Israel to profane the Sabbath. ¹⁹ And it was when the gates of Jerusalem grew dark before the Sabbath. And I said, and they shut the doors. And I said that they should not open them until after the Sabbath. And from the young men I appointed over the gates, no load shall come in on the day of the Sabbath. ²⁰ And the traders and sellers of all merchandise lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. ²¹ And I testified against them and said to them, "Why are you lodging opposite the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you." From that time they did not come on the Sabbath. ²² And I said to the Levites who were to purify themselves and come to guard the gates to consecrate the Sabbath day, "Remember me also favorably, my God, and spare me according to the abundance of your steadfast love." ²³ Also in those days I saw Jews who had married Ashdodite, Ammonite, and Moabite women. ²⁴ And their sons spoke half in the Ashdodite language, and they did not know how to speak Jewish, or the language of various peoples. ²⁵ I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of their men and plucked them and made them swear by God, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves." ²⁶ Did not Solomon king of Israel sin in these things? And among the nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; even he foreign women caused to sin. ²⁷ And you who listen to do all this great evil, a trespass against our God, to bring back foreign women. ²⁸ And one of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, and I drove him away from me. ²⁹ Remember them, God, the profaners of the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. ³⁰ And I purified them from all foreigners and stationed watches for the priests and for the Levites, each man in his work. ³¹ And for the offering of the trees at appointed times and for the Firstfruits offering, remember me, O God, for good.