Nehemiah 13:23-29

23 In those days also I saw the Jews ¹who had married women ²of Ashdod, ³Ammon, and ⁴Moab.

24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.

25 ⁵And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. ⁶And I made them take oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

26 ⁷Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? ⁸Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was ⁹beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.

27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and ¹⁰act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?"

28 And one of the sons of ¹¹Jehoiada, the son of ¹²Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of ¹³Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me.

29 ¹⁴Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood ¹⁵and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

Nehemiah 13:23-29 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 13

This chapter relates the reformation of various abuses crept in among the Jews by Nehemiah, who removed the Moabites and Ammonites, mixed with them, Ne 13:1-3, threw the household goods of Tobiah out of a chamber of the temple, and restored it to its former use, Ne 13:4-9, took care that the Levites had their portion given them which had been kept from them, Ne 13:10-14 prevented the profanation of the sabbath by selling goods on that day, Ne 13:15-22, and put a stop to the marrying of strange wives, which had prevailed again among them, Ne 13:23-31.

Cross References

• 1. Ezra 9:2; Ezra 10:10
• 2. [Nehemiah 4:7]
• 3. [ver. 1; Ezra 9:1]
• 4. [ver. 1; Ezra 9:1]
• 5. [See ver. 17 above]
• 6. Ezra 10:5; [Nehemiah 10:29, 30]
• 7. See 1 Kings 11:1-8
• 8. 1 Kings 3:13; 2 Chronicles 1:12
• 9. [2 Samuel 12:24]
• 10. Ezra 10:2
• 11. Nehemiah 12:10, 11, 22
• 12. ver. 4, 7; Nehemiah 3:1
• 13. Nehemiah 2:10, 19
• 14. [Nehemiah 6:14]
• 15. Malachi 2:4