Open English Translation NEH Chapter 13

13 That day, the Mosheh scroll was read out aloud to the people, and it was discovered that it had been written that no Ammonite or Moabite is ever allowed to join the congregation[ref] 2 because instead of helping the travelling Israelis with food and water, they had hired Bil’am (Balaam) to curse them (even though God had turned that curse into blessing).[ref] 3 After hearing that, they separated out all of the foreigners.

4 Prior to that time, the high priest Elyashiv (closely related to Toviyyah) had been in charge of the temple storerooms 5 and he’d allowed Toviyyah to have a large room that had previously been used to store offerings: the frankincense, the utensils, and donated grain, wine, and oil, (the percentage commanded to be given to the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers), and the offerings for the priests. 6 During all that period, I hadn’t been in Yerushalem because I’d returned to the Babylonian king in the 32nd year of Artahshashta’s reign (Artaxerxes). However, after a while I requested leave again from the king 7 and I came back to Yerushalem. It was then that I discovered how evil Elyashiv had been by making a storeroom for Toviyyah in the courts of God’s residence. 8 It made me very upset and I threw everything of Toviyyah’s out of the room. 9 Then I ordered the storerooms to be purified by the priests before I returned the temple utensils to the room, along with the grain offerings and the incense.

10 I found out that the Levites and the singers weren’t being given their percentage, so they’d left their duties and returned to cultivate their own fields.[ref] 11 I made a complaint to the officials asking why the operation of the temple had been neglected, and then I rounded up the Levites and the singers and sent them back to their duties. 12 After that, the people of Yehudah started bringing a tenth of their grain and wine and oil to the storerooms.[ref] 13 I appointed book-keepers over the storerooms: the priest Shelemyah, the scribe Tsadok, and the Levite Pedayah with Hanan (the son of Zakkur, the son of Mattanyah) helping. They were all considered trustworthy, and their job included distributing the produce among their colleagues.

14 My God, remember me handling all these issues and don’t wipe out my loyal kindness for your temple and its operation that I’ve shown.

15 In those days I saw people in Yehudah working on the rest day—treading wine, bringing in grain, and loading donkeys, yes, even bringing wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads into Yerushalem on the rest day. I complained to them when they were selling the goods.[ref] 16 Also, people from Tsor (Tyre) were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling it on the rest day to the Israelis, even in Yerushalem. 17 I rebuked the Yehudah business leaders, asking them, “What’s this evil thing that you’re all doing—profaning the rest day by treating it like a regular day? 18 Wasn’t that what your ancestors did—the very reason our God brought all this evil on us and on this city? Now you’re all making God angry with Israel again by profaning the rest day.”

19 So after that, when it started to get dark on Friday evenings, I ordered that the city gates be closed, and not to be opened until after the rest day. I also stationed some of my young men to stand at the gates to ensure that no load could enter on the rest day. 20 Some traders and merchants selling various goods camped outside the city walls once or twice, 21 but I warned them, “Why are you camping there outside the wall? If you do it again, I’ll have you all removed.” After that, they no longer came on the rest days. 22 Then I told the Levites that they should purify themselves and then come to the gates to monitor them on the rest day.

My God, remember me having to deal with this, and show your amazing loyal faithfulness towards me.

23 During that time, I also saw Jews who’d married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moav, 24 and half of their children spoke a foreign language from those other people groups and couldn’t speak Hebrew. 25 So I scolded those men and cursed them and hit some of them and pulled out their hair. Then I forced them to promise in front on God that they wouldn’t allow their daughters to marry foreign men, or their sons to take foreign wives. 26 I explained, “Didn’t Israel’s own King Shelomoh sin concerning that same matter? Among all the countries in the world, there wasn’t any other king like, and he was loved by his God who’d placed him there as king over all Israel. But even then, the foreign women caused him to sin. 27 So do we need to hear about all of you doing this terrible evil of being unfaithful to God by marrying foreign wives?”

28 Also one of Yoyada’s sons (grandson of the high priest Elyashiv) was a son-in-law of Sanvallat the Horonite, so I banished him from my sight.[ref]

29 My God, remember them for bringing shame to the priesthood and dishonouring the vows made by the priests and the Levites.

30 Then I purified them from everything foreign, established regulations for each part of the work done by the priests and the Levites, 31 and organised the firewood supply at certain times, including for the first-fruits celebrations.

My God, remember me for good.