Nehemiah 13 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud to the people. In it they found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the of
because they had not met the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they had hired to curse them — though our God turned the curse into a of
When the people heard this law, they separated from Israel everyone of foreign descent.
Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God and who was to
had prepared a large room for him in the temple courts. This room had previously been used to store the grain offerings, the incense, the temple articles, and the tenths of grain, new wine, and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.
But while all this was happening, I wasn't in Jerusalem. In the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After some time, I asked the king for permission to return.
When I came back to Jerusalem, I discovered the terrible thing Eliashib had done for Tobiah—setting up a room for him in the courts of the house of God.
I was furious and all of out of the room.
I gave orders to purify the rooms. Then I put back the equipment of the house of God, along with the grain offerings and the incense.
I also discovered that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, so the Levites and the singers who performed the service had all to their own
So I the officials and demanded, "Why has the house of God been neglected?" Then I gathered the Levites and singers and restored them to their positions.
Then all Judah brought the tenth of the grain, new wine, and olive oil into the storerooms.
I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites in charge of the storerooms, with Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, as their assistant, because they were considered Their job was to distribute supplies to their colleagues.
me for this, my God. Don't wipe out the I have done for the house of my God and its services."
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the and bringing in loads of grain and loading them on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of goods, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the day. I warned them against selling food on that day.
People from who lived there were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah — in Jerusalem itself!
I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this terrible thing you're doing—violating the Sabbath day?
Didn't your ancestors do the same thing, and didn't our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you're making it even worse for Israel by violating the Sabbath!"
When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the gates shut and not opened until after the Sabbath. I stationed some of my own servants at the gates so that no loads could be brought in on the Sabbath day.
Once or twice, merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem.
But I warned them: "Why are you camping by the wall? If you do this again, I'll use force against you." From that time on, they did not come on the Sabbath.
Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and come guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day "Remember me for this too, my God, and show me compassion according to your
In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
Half of their children spoke the of Ashdod or the of one of the other peoples, and the of
I confronted them, called down curses on them, struck some of them, and out their I made them swear by God: "You will not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
"Wasn't it because of marriages like these that King Solomon of Israel failed? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet even he was by foreign wives.
Should we then listen to you and do all this terrible wrong — being to our God by marrying foreign women?"
One of the sons of Joiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. I from me.
"Remember them, my God, because they have the and the covenant of the and the Levites."
So I purified them from everything foreign and established the duties for the priests and Levites, each in their assigned tasks.
I also arranged for the wood offering at designated times and for the firstfruits. me my