Nehemiah 13

1 in/on/with day [the] he/she/it to call: read out in/on/with scroll: book Moses in/on/with ear: hearing [the] people and to find to write in/on/with him which not to come (in): come Ammon and Moabite in/on/with assembly [the] God till forever: enduring

One day when the Book of Moses was being read to the people, the section was found where it was written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be allowed into the assembly of God,

2 for not to meet [obj] son: descendant/people Israel in/on/with food: bread and in/on/with water and to hire upon him [obj] Balaam to/for to lighten him and to overturn God our [the] curse to/for blessing

because they hadn't brought food and water when they met the Israelites, but instead they had hired Balaam to put a curse on them—though our God turned that curse into a blessing!

3 and to be like/as to hear: hear they [obj] [the] instruction and to separate all racial-mix from Israel

When the people heard about this law, they separated out from Israel everyone who had foreign ancestry.

4 and to/for face: before from this Eliashib [the] priest to give: put in/on/with chamber house: temple God our near to/for Tobiah

Before all this, Eliashib the priest, who was related to Tobiah, had been put in charge of the storerooms of the Temple of our God.

5 and to make to/for him chamber great: large and there to be to/for face: before to give: put [obj] [the] offering [the] frankincense and [the] article/utensil and tithe [the] grain [the] new wine and [the] oil commandment [the] Levi and [the] to sing and [the] gatekeeper and contribution [the] priest

He had provided Tobiah with a large room which had previously been used to store the grain offerings, incense, and Temple items, as well as the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil allocated to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, in addition to the offerings for the priests.

6 and in/on/with all this not to be in/on/with Jerusalem for in/on/with year thirty and two to/for Artaxerxes king Babylon to come (in): come to(wards) [the] king and to/for end day to ask from [the] king

When all this happened I was not in Jerusalem because I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I requested permission from the king to go back.

7 and to come (in): come to/for Jerusalem and to understand [emph?] in/on/with distress: evil which to make: do Eliashib to/for Tobiah to/for to make to/for him chamber in/on/with court house: temple [the] God

When I arrived back in Jerusalem I discovered the dreadful thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courtyard of God's Temple.

8 and be evil to/for me much and to throw [emph?] [obj] all article/utensil house: home Tobiah [the] outside from [the] chamber

I was extremely upset, and I went and threw out everything that was in Tobiah's room.

9 and to say [emph?] and be pure [the] chamber and to return: return [emph?] there article/utensil house: temple [the] God [obj] [the] offering and [the] frankincense

I ordered the rooms purified, and put back the Temple items, the grain offerings, and the incense.

10 and to know [emph?] for portion [the] Levi not to give: give and to flee man: anyone to/for land: country his [the] Levi and [the] to sing to make: do [the] work

I also found out that the food allowances for the Levites were not being provided, so the Levites had gone back to take care of their fields, along with the singers who led the worship services.

11 and to contend [emph?] with [the] ruler and to say [emph?] why? to leave: neglect house: temple [the] God and to gather them and to stand: stand them upon post their

I went and confronted the leaders, asking, “Why is God's Temple being neglected?” I called the Levites back and made sure they were carrying out their responsibilities.

12 and all Judah to come (in): bring tithe [the] grain and [the] new wine and [the] oil to/for treasure

Everyone in Judah then brought the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil into the storerooms.

13 and to store [emph?] upon treasure Shelemiah [the] priest and Zadok [the] secretary and Pedaiah from [the] Levi and upon hand: to their Hanan son: child Zaccur son: child Mattaniah for be faithful to devise: count and upon them to/for to divide to/for brother: male-relative their

I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites, in charge of the storerooms with Hanan, son of Zakkur, son of Mattaniah, to assist them, because they were considered honest people. Their responsibility was to distribute the allowances to their fellow Levites.

14 to remember [emph?] to/for me God my upon this and not to wipe kindness my which to make: do in/on/with house: temple God my and in/on/with custody his

My God, please remember me over this. Please don't forget my good deeds I have done for the Temple of my God and its services.

15 in/on/with day [the] they(masc.) to see: see in/on/with Judah to tread wine press in/on/with Sabbath and to come (in): bring [the] heap and to lift upon [the] donkey and also wine grape and fig and all burden and to come (in): bring Jerusalem in/on/with day [the] Sabbath and to testify in/on/with day to sell they food

Around that time I noticed people treading the winepress on Sabbath. I saw others collecting grain and loading it up on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, and bringing it all into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

16 and [the] Tyrian to dwell in/on/with her to come (in): bring fish and all merchandise and to sell in/on/with Sabbath to/for son: descendant/people Judah and in/on/with Jerusalem

I told them off for selling their produce on that day.

17 and to contend [emph?] with noble Judah and to say [emph?] to/for them what? [the] word: thing [the] bad: evil [the] this which you(m. p.) to make: do and to profane/begin: profane [obj] day [the] Sabbath

Some people from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of things and they were selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.

18 not thus to make: do father your and to come (in): bring God our upon us [obj] all [the] distress: harm [the] this and upon [the] city [the] this and you(m. p.) to add burning anger upon Israel to/for to profane/begin: profane [obj] [the] Sabbath

I confronted the Jewish leaders, asking them, “Why are you are doing such an evil thing? You are violating the Sabbath day! Wasn't this what your forefathers did, bringing our God down on us, causing us and this city such disasters? Now you're bringing even more trouble on us by violating the Sabbath!”

19 and to be like/as as which to shade gate Jerusalem to/for face: before [the] Sabbath and to say [emph?] and to shut [the] door and to say [emph?] which not to open them till after [the] Sabbath and from youth my to stand: stand upon [the] gate not to come (in): come burden in/on/with day [the] Sabbath

So I ordered Jerusalem's gates to be shut at sunset on the day before the Sabbath, and that were not to be opened until after the Sabbath had ended. I assigned some of my men to guard the gates to make sure no goods would be brought in on the Sabbath day.

20 and to lodge [the] to trade and to sell all sale from outside to/for Jerusalem beat and two

A couple of times merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside of Jerusalem.

21 and to testify [emph?] in/on/with them and to say [emph?] to(wards) them why? you(m. p.) to lodge before [the] wall if to repeat hand to send: reach in/on/with you from [the] time [the] he/she/it not to come (in): come in/on/with Sabbath

I warned them, saying, “Why are you spending the night by the wall? If you do that again I'll have you arrested!” After that they didn't come on the Sabbath.

22 and to say [emph?] to/for Levi which to be be pure and to come (in): come to keep: guard [the] gate to/for to consecrate: consecate [obj] day [the] Sabbath also this to remember [emph?] to/for me God my and to pity [emph?] upon me like/as abundance kindness your

Then I told the Levites to purify themselves and to come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. My God, please also remember me for doing this, and be merciful to me because of your trustworthy love.

23 also in/on/with day [the] they(masc.) to see: see [obj] [the] Jew to dwell woman (Ashdod Ammon *Qk) Moabite

Around the same time I realized some Jews had married women from Ashdod, Moab, and Ammon.

24 and son: child their half to speak: speak Ashdod and nothing they to recognize to/for to speak: speak Judahite and like/as tongue: language people and people

Half their children could only speak the language of Ashdod or that of another people, and didn't know how to speak the language of Judah.

25 and to contend with them and to lighten them and to smite from them human and to smooth them and to swear them in/on/with God if: surely no to give: give(marriage) daughter your to/for son: child their and if: surely no to lift: marry from daughter their to/for son: child your and to/for you

So I confronted them and told them they were cursed. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God, saying, “You must not allow your daughters to marry their sons, or allow your sons—or yourselves— to marry their daughters.

26 not upon these to sin Solomon king Israel and in/on/with nation [the] many not to be king like him and to love: lover to/for God his to be and to give: make him God king upon all Israel also [obj] him to sin [the] woman [the] foreign

Wasn't it marriages like these that made King Solomon of Israel sin? There wasn't a king in any nation like him. God loved him, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was made to sin by foreign women.

27 and to/for you to hear: hear to/for to make: do [obj] all [the] distress: evil [the] great: large [the] this to/for be unfaithful in/on/with God our to/for to dwell woman foreign

So do we have to hear about you committing this dreadful sin, how you are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?”

28 and from son: child Joiada son: child Eliashib [the] priest [the] great: large son-in-law to/for Sanballat [the] Horonite and to flee him from upon me

Even one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. So I expelled him.

29 to remember [emph?] to/for them God my upon defilement [the] priesthood and covenant [the] priesthood and [the] Levi

My God, remember them and what they did, violating the priesthood and the solemn agreement of the priests and Levites.

30 and be pure them from all foreign and to stand: appoint [emph?] charge to/for priest and to/for Levi man: anyone in/on/with work his

I purified them from everything foreign, and I made sure the priests and Levites were carrying out their assigned responsibilities.

31 and to/for offering [the] tree: wood in/on/with time to appoint and to/for firstfruit to remember [emph?] to/for me God my to/for welfare

I also arranged for wood to be supplied for the altar at the specified times, and for the first part of the produce to be donated. My God, remember me favorably.