Nehemiah 13 Nehemiah Removes Various Abuses

 Nehemiah 13

Nehemiah Removes Various Abuses

1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and it was found written in it that the Ammonites and the Moabites should never come into the assembly of God,

2 because they had not come out to meet the children of Israel with bread and water, but had hired Balaam against them to curse them; yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.

3 So it came to pass, when they heard this law, that they departed from Israel, all the mixed.

4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who had charge of the chamber of the house of our God, had become related to Tobiah; 

5 And he had made a large chamber for him, where before they had kept the grain offerings, the incense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the wine, and the oil, which were prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. 

6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I came to the king; but after some days I obtained permission from the king again. 

7 And I came to Jerusalem, and I learned of the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in making him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

 8 And it displeased me greatly; so I threw all the furniture of Tobiah's house out of the chamber. 

9 And when I had given orders, they cleansed the chambers; and I brought back the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.

10 I also realized that the Levites' share was not given to them; so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled, each to his own land.

11 Then I argued with the officials and said, "Why has the house of God been forsaken?" But I gathered them together and restored them to their place.

12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses.

13 And I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, from among the Levites, as treasurers over the storehouses; and with them Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, because they were found faithful; and they were entrusted with the distribution to their brothers. 

14 (For this reason, my God, remember me, and do not wipe out the good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for its guards.) 

15 In those days I saw in Judah those who were treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in sheaves and loading them on donkeys, wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of cargo, which they brought to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I protested against them on the day they sold grain. 

16 There were also Tyrians living inside, who brought in fish and all kinds of merchandise, which they sold on the Sabbath to the people of Judah and in Jerusalem. 

17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What evil is this that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 

18 Did not your fathers do this, and did not our God bring all this evil on us and on this city?” And you have further increased His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath. 

19 So it happened that when the gates of Jerusalem were dark before the Sabbath, I gave the order, and the gates were shut; and I commanded that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, so that no cargo might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 

20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of merchandise lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 

21 So I rebuked them and said to them, “Why do you lodge in front of the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 

22 I also commanded the Levites to purify themselves. And they came to keep the gates, to keep the Sabbath holy: (In this also, my God, remember me, and forgive me according to the abundance of your mercy.) 

23 In those days I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

 24 Their children spoke half of Ashdod, and could not speak in the language of Judah, but according to the language of each people. 

25 So I contended with them, and cursed them, and struck some of them, and tore off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall no longer give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves." 

26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin in this, when there was no king like him among many nations, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel? Yet the foreign women made him sin. 

27 Should we listen to you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God by marrying foreign women? 

28 One of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib, the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him away from me. 

29 Remember them, my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

 30 So I purged them of all foreigners, and I appointed the offices of the priests and the Levites, each one for his work; 

31 and for the offering of wood at set times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, my God, for good.