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This is the end of Nehemiah, tomorrow, we’ll start on Esther.
āāNehemiah⬠ā13:1ā-ā¬31⬠āMSGā¬ā¬
[1-3] Also on that same day there was a reading from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. It was found written there that no Ammonite or Moabite was permitted to enter the congregation of God, because they hadnāt welcomed the People of Israel with food and drink; they even hired Balaam to work against them by cursing them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. When they heard the reading of The Revelation, they excluded all foreigners from Israel. * * * [4-5] Some time before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of The Temple of God. He was close to Tobiah and had made available to him a large storeroom that had been used to store Grain-Offerings, incense, worship vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil for the Levites, singers, and security guards, and the offerings for the priests. [6-9] When this was going on I wasnāt there in Jerusalem; in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I had traveled back to the king. But later I asked for his permission to leave again. I arrived in Jerusalem and learned of the wrong that Eliashib had done in turning over to him a room in the courts of The Temple of God. I was angry, really angry, and threw everything in the room out into the street, all of Tobiahās stuff. Then I ordered that they ceremonially cleanse the room. Only then did I put back the worship vessels of The Temple of God, along with the Grain-Offerings and the incense. [10-13] And then I learned that the Levites hadnāt been given their regular food allotments. So the Levites and singers who led the services of worship had all left and gone back to their farms. I called the officials on the carpet, āWhy has The Temple of God been abandoned?ā I got everyone back again and put them back on their jobs so that all Judah was again bringing in the tithe of grain, wine, and oil to the storerooms. I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms. I made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their right-hand man. These men had a reputation for honesty and hard work. They were responsible for distributing the rations to their brothers. [14] Remember me, O my God, for this. Donāt ever forget the devoted work I have done for The Temple of God and its worship. [15-16] During those days, while back in Judah, I also noticed that people treaded wine presses, brought in sacks of grain, and loaded up their donkeys on the Sabbath. They brought wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of stuff to sell on the Sabbath. So I spoke up and warned them about selling food on that day. Tyrians living there brought in fish and whatever else, selling it to Judeansāin Jerusalem, mind you!āon the Sabbath. [17-18] I confronted the leaders of Judah: āWhatās going on here? This evil! Profaning the Sabbath! Isnāt this exactly what your ancestors did? And because of it didnāt God bring down on us and this city all this misery? And here you are adding to itāaccumulating more wrath on Jerusalem by profaning the Sabbath.ā [19] As the gates of Jerusalem were darkened by the shadows of the approaching Sabbath, I ordered the doors shut and not to be opened until the Sabbath was over. I placed some of my servants at the gates to make sure that nothing to be sold would get in on the Sabbath day. [20-21] Traders and dealers in various goods camped outside the gates once or twice. But I took them to task. I said, āYou have no business camping out here by the wall. If I find you here again, Iāll use force to drive you off.ā And that did it; they didnāt come back on the Sabbath. [22] Then I directed the Levites to ceremonially cleanse themselves and take over as guards at the gates to keep the sanctity of the Sabbath day. Remember me also for this, my God. Treat me with mercy according to your great and steadfast love. * * * [23-27] Also in those days I saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half the children couldnāt even speak the language of Judah; all they knew was the language of Ashdod or some other tongue. So I took those men to task, gave them a piece of my mind, even slapped some of them and jerked them by the hair. I made them swear to God: āDonāt marry your daughters to their sons; and donāt let their daughters marry your sonsāand donāt you yourselves marry them! Didnāt Solomon the king of Israel sin because of women just like these? Even though there was no king quite like him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel, foreign women were his downfall. Do you call this obedienceāengaging in this extensive evil, showing yourselves faithless to God by marrying foreign wives?ā [28] One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; I drove him out of my presence. [29] Remember them, O my God, how they defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priests and Levites. * * * [30-31] All in all I cleansed them from everything foreign. I organized the orders of service for the priests and Levites so that each man knew his job. I arranged for a regular supply of altar wood at the appointed times and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.


How long have you been doing this?
Posting Bible verses? Since 2018. Going through Bible verses and chapters in the order that they appear in the Bible? Since last year.
When I started, I mainly just started to prove a point to some atheists on this site. I have since had a HUGE change in perspective, in my heart, and in what I believe God’s doing in my personal life.