Nehemiah13
English Standard Version
1On that they from the of in the of the . And in it was or should the of ,
2 they did the of with and , but them to them—yet our the into a .
3As soon as the people the , they those of .
4Now , the , who was appointed the of the of our , and who was to ,
5 for Tobiah a they had the , the , the , and the of , , and , which were given by to the , , and , and the for the .
6 was taking place, I was in , in the of of I to the . And some I of the
7and to , and I then the had for , for him a in the of the of .
8And I was , and I the of the .
9Then I , and they the , and I the of the of , with the and the .
10I also the of the had been to them, so that the and the , who the , had to his .
11So I the and , is the of ? And I and them in their .
12Then the of the , , and into the .
13And I appointed as the the , the , and the , and their the of , of , they were , and their was to to their .
14 me, O my , , and do wipe my I have for the of my and for his .
15In those I in on the , and and them , and , , , and kinds of , which they on the . And I them on the when they .
16 also, who in the city, and kinds of and them on the to the of , in itself!
17Then I the of and to them, is you are , the ?
18Did your in this , and did not our us and ? Now you are by the .
19As soon it began to at the of the , I that the should be and they should be the . And I of my the , that might be on the .
20Then the and of kinds of or .
21But I them and to them, do you the ? you do so , I will on you. that on they did on the .
22Then I the they should and and the , to the . in my favor, O my , and according to the of your .
23In those I the who had of , , and .
24And of their of , and they the of , but only the of .
25And I and them and and pulled out their . And I made them take an in the name of , saying, You shall your to their , or their for your or for yourselves.
26Did of on of such ? Among the there was like him, and he was by his , and him . Nevertheless, made him to .
27Shall we then to you and and against our by ?
28And of the of , the of the , was the of the . Therefore I him .
29 them, O my , they have the and the of the and the .
30Thus I them , and I the of the and , in his ;
31and I provided for the at , and for the . me, O my , for .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Nehemiah 13.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude. (1–9). Nehemiah's reform in the house of God. (10–14). Sabbath-breaking restrained. (15–22). The dismissal of strange wives. (23–31).
vv1-9
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers to us sin and duty, good and evil, and shows wherein we have erred. We profit, when we are thus wrought upon to separate from evil. Those that would drive sin out of their hearts, the living temples, must throw out its household stuff, and all the provision made for it; and take away all the things that are the food and fuel of lust; this is really to mortify it. When sin is cast out of the heart by repentance, let the blood of Christ be applied to it by faith, then let it be furnished with the graces of God's Spirit, for every good work.
vv10-14
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 upon the rulers. Both ministers and people, who forsake religion and the services of it, and magistrates, who do not what they can to keep them to it, will have much to answer for. He delayed not to bring the Levites to their places again, and that just payment should be made. Nehemiah on every occasion looked up to God, and committed himself and all his affairs to Him. It pleased him to think that he had been of use to revive and support religion in his country. He here refers to God, not in pride, but with a humble appeal concerning his honest intention in what he had done. He prays, “Remember me;” not, Reward me. “Wipe not out my good deeds;” not, Publish them, or record them. Yet he was rewarded, and his good deeds recorded. God does more than we are able to ask.
vv15-22
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 by our example. Nehemiah charges it on them as an evil thing, for so it is, proceeding from contempt of God and our own souls. He shows that sabbath-breaking was one of the sins for which God had brought judgments upon them; and if they did not take warning, but returned to the same sins again, they had to expect further judgments. The courage, zeal, and prudence of Nehemiah in this matter, are recorded for us to do likewise; and we have reason to think, that the cure he wrought was lasting. He felt and confessed himself a sinner, who could demand nothing from God as justice, when he thus cried unto him for mercy.
Key Words
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
קָרָא: to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
סֵפֶר: properly, writing (the art or a document); by implication, a book
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אֹזֶן: broadness. i.e. (concrete) the ear (from its form in man)
עַם: a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
מָצָא: properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present
כָּתַב: to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
Cross References
Nehemiah 13Direct source text read in the audience of the people regarding the Ammonite and Moabite exclusion.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jeremiah's explicit prophetic warning against bearing burdens through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The supreme historical warning of Solomon being led into sin and idolatry by strange, foreign wives.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The people's recent, solemn covenant agreement to pay the tithes, which they had quickly broken.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Nehemiah's signature prayer of appeal to God's remembrance of his good deeds and faithfulness.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contemporaneous prophetic indictment of priests who corrupted the covenant of Levi, matching Nehemiah's charge.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel crisis of Ezra separating the holy seed from the mixed heathen population of the land.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Malachi's direct rebuke of robbing God by withholding the mandated tithes and offerings.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Direct contrast to their prior covenant oath: 'we will not forsake the house of our God.'
Supported by Matthew Poole
The legal warrant and limitation for beating the disobedient with stripes.
Supported by Matthew Henry