नहेम्या 13

1And on that day they read in the book of Moses in the hearing of the people: and therein was found written, that the Ammonites and the Moabites should not come in to the church of God for ever:

2Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and water: and they hired against them Balaam, to curse them, and our God turned the curse into blessing.

3And it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated every stranger from Israel.

4And over this thing was Eliasib the priest, who was set over the treasury of the house of our God, and was near akin to Tobias.

5And he made him a great storeroom, where before him they laid up gifts, and frankincense, and vessels, and the tithes of the corn, of the wine, and of the oil, the portions of the Levites, and of the singing men, and of the porters, and the firstfruits of the priests.

6But in all this time I was not in Jerusalem, because in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I went to the king, and after certain days I asked the king:

7And I came to Jerusalem, and I understood the evil that Eliasib had done for Tobias, to make him a storehouse in the courts of the house of God.

8And it seemed to me exceeding evil. And I cast forth the vessels of the house of Tobias out of the storehouse.

9And I commanded and they cleansed the storehouses: and I brought thither again the vessels of the house of God, the sacrifice, and the frankincense.

10And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: and that the Levites, and the singing men, and they that ministered were fled away every man to his own country:

11And I pleaded the matter against the magistrates, and said: Why have we forsaken the house of God? And I gathered them together, and I made them to stand in their places.

12And all Juda brought the tithe of the corn, and the wine, and the oil into the storehouses.

13And we set over the storehouses Selemias the priest, and Sadoc the scribe, and of the Levites Phadaia, and next to them Hanan the son of Zachur, the son of Mathania: for they were approved as faithful, and to them were committed the portions of their brethren.

14Remember me, O my God, for this thing, and wipe not out my kindnesses, which I have done relating to the house of my God and his ceremonies.

15In those days I saw in Juda some treading the presses on the sabbath, and carrying sheaves, and lading asses with wine, and grapes, and figs, and all manner of burthens, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. And I charged them that they should sell on a day on which it was lawful to sell.

16Some Tyrians also dwelt there, who brought fish, and all manner of wares: and they sold them on the sabbaths to the children of Juda in Jerusalem.

17And I rebuked the chief men of Juda, and said to them: What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day?

18Did not our fathers do these things, and our God brought all this evil upon us, and upon this city? And you bring more wrath upon Israel by violating the sabbath.

19And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem were at rest on the sabbath day, I spoke: and they shut the gates, and I commanded that they should not open them till after the sabbath: and I set some of my servants at the gates, that none should bring in burthens on the sabbath day.

20So the merchants, and they that sold all kinds of wares, stayed without Jerusalem once or twice.

21And I charged them, and I said to them: Why stay you before the wall? if you do so another time, I will lay hands on you. And from that time they came no more on the sabbath.

22I spoke also to the Levites that they should be purified, and should come to keep the gates, and to sanctify the sabbath day: for this also remember me, O my God, and spare me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

23In those days also I saw Jews that married wives, women of Azotus, and of Ammon, and of Moab.

24And their children spoke half in the speech of Azotus, and could not speak the Jews’ language, but they spoke according to the language of this and that people.

25And I chid them, and laid my curse upon them. And I beat some of them, and shaved off their hair, and made them swear by God that they would not give their daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for their sons, nor for themselves, saying:

26Did not Solomon king of Israel sin in this kind of thing? and surely among many nations, there was not a king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: and yet women of other countries brought even him to sin.

27And shall we also be disobedient and do all this great evil to transgress against our God, and marry strange women?

28And one of the sons of Joiada the son of Eliasib the high priest, was son in law to Sanaballat the Horonite, and I drove him from me.

29Remember them, O Lord my God, that defile the priesthood, and the law of priests and Levites.

30So I separated from them all strangers, and I appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites, every man in his ministry:

31And for the offering of wood at times appointed, and for the firstfruits: remember me, O my God, unto good. Amen.

1In die autem illo, lectum est in volumine Moysi, audiente populo: et inventum est scriptum in eo, quod non debeant introire Ammonites et Moabites in ecclesiam Dei usque in æternum:

2eo quod non occurrerint filiis Israël cum pane et aqua, et conduxerint adversum eos Balaam ad maledicendum eis: et convertit Deus noster maledictionem in benedictionem.

3Factum est autem, cum audissent legem, separaverunt omnem alienigenam ab Israël.

4Et super hoc erat Eliasib sacerdos, qui fuerat præpositus in gazophylacio domus Dei nostri, et proximus Tobiæ.

5Fecit ergo sibi gazophylacium grande, et ibi erant ante eum reponentes munera, et thus, et vasa, et decimam frumenti, vini, et olei, partes Levitarum, et cantorum, et janitorum, et primitias sacerdotales.

6In omnibus autem his non fui in Jerusalem, quia anno trigesimo secundo Artaxerxis regis Babylonis veni ad regem, et in fine dierum rogavi regem.

7Et veni in Jerusalem, et intellexi malum quod fecerat Eliasib Tobiæ, ut faceret ei thesaurum in vestibulis domus Dei.

8Et malum mihi visum est valde. Et projeci vasa domus Tobiæ foras de gazophylacio:

9præcepique et emundaverunt gazophylacia: et retuli ibi vasa domus Dei, sacrificium, et thus.

10Et cognovi quod partes Levitarum non fuissent datæ, et fugisset unusquisque in regionem suam de Levitis, et cantoribus, et de his qui ministrabant:

11et egi causam adversus magistratus, et dixi: Quare dereliquimus domum Dei? et congregavi eos, et feci stare in stationibus suis.

12Et omnis Juda apportabat decimam frumenti, vini, et olei, in horrea.

13Et constituimus super horrea Selemiam sacerdotem, et Sadoc scribam, et Phadaiam de Levitis, et juxta eos Hanan filium Zachur, filium Mathaniæ: quoniam fideles comprobati sunt, et ipsis creditæ sunt partes fratrum suorum.

14Memento mei, Deus meus, pro hoc, et ne deleas miserationes meas quas feci in domo Dei mei, et in cæremoniis ejus.

15In diebus illis vidi in Juda calcantes torcularia in sabbato, portantes acervos, et onerantes super asinos vinum, et uvas, et ficus, et omne onus, et inferentes in Jerusalem, die sabbati. Et contestatus sum ut in die qua vendere liceret, venderent.

16Et Tyrii habitaverunt in ea, inferentes pisces, et omnia venalia: et vendebant in sabbatis filiis Juda in Jerusalem.

17Et objurgavi optimates Juda, et dixi eis: Quæ est hæc res mala quam vos facitis, et profanatis diem sabbati?

18numquid non hæc fecerunt patres nostri, et adduxit Deus noster super nos omne malum hoc, et super civitatem hanc? et vos additis iracundiam super Israël violando sabbatum.

19Factum est autem, cum quievissent portæ Jerusalem in die sabbati, dixi: et clauserunt januas, et præcepi ut non aperirent eas usque post sabbatum: et de pueris meis constitui super portas, ut nullus inferret onus in die sabbati.

20Et manserunt negotiatores, et vendentes universa venalia, foris Jerusalem semel et bis.

21Et contestatus sum eos, et dixi eis: Quare manetis ex adverso muri? si secundo hoc feceritis, manum mittam in vos. Itaque ex tempore illo non venerunt in sabbato.

22Dixi quoque Levitis ut mundarentur, et venirent ad custodiendas portas, et sanctificandam diem sabbati: et pro hoc ergo memento mei, Deus meus, et parce mihi secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum.

23Sed et in diebus illis vidi Judæos ducentes uxores Azotidas, Ammonitidas, et Moabitidas.

24Et filii eorum ex media parte loquebantur azotice, et nesciebant loqui judaice, et loquebantur juxta linguam populi et populi.

25Et objurgavi eos, et maledixi. Et cecidi ex eis viros, et decalvavi eos, et adjuravi in Deo ut non darent filias suas filiis eorum, et non acciperent de filiabus eorum filiis suis et sibimetipsis, dicens:

26Numquid non in hujuscemodi re peccavit Salomon rex Israël? et certe in gentibus multis non erat rex similis ei, et dilectus Deo suo erat, et posuit eum Deus regem super omnem Israël: et ipsum ergo duxerunt ad peccatum mulieres alienigenæ.

27Numquid et nos inobedientes faciemus omne malum grande hoc ut prævaricemur in Deo nostro, et ducamus uxores peregrinas?

28De filiis autem Jojada filii Eliasib sacerdotis magni, gener erat Sanaballat Horonites, quem fugavi a me.

29Recordare, Domine Deus meus, adversum eos qui polluunt sacerdotium, jusque sacerdotale et Leviticum.

30Igitur mundavi eos ab omnibus alienigenis, et constitui ordines sacerdotum et Levitarum, unumquemque in ministerio suo:

31et in oblatione lignorum in temporibus constitutis, et in primitivis: memento mei, Deus meus, in bonum. Amen.

1Now on that day, they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it, there was found written that the Ammonites and the Moabites must not enter the church of God, even for all time,

2because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, and they hired Balaam against them, to curse them. But our God turned the curse into a blessing.

3Now it happened that, when they had heard the law, they separated every foreigner from Israel.

4And Eliashib, the priest, was over this task; he had been given charge of the treasury of the house of our God, and he was a close relative of Tobiah.

5Then he made for himself a large storeroom, and in that place, there was laid before him gifts, and frankincense, and vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, the portions of the Levites, and of the singing men, and of the gatekeepers, and the first-fruits of the priests.

6But during all this, I was not in Jerusalem, because in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, the king of Babylon, I went to the king, and at the end of some days, I petitioned the king.

7And I went to Jerusalem, and I understood the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, such that he would make him a storeroom in the vestibules of the house of God.

8And it seemed to me very evil. And I cast the vessels of the house of Tobiah outside of the storeroom.

9And I gave instructions, and they cleansed again the storeroom. And I brought back, into that place, the vessels of the house of God, the sacrifice, and the frankincense.

10And I realized that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, and that each one had fled into his own region, from the Levites, and from the singing men, and from those who were ministering.

11And I brought the case before the magistrates, and I said, “Why have we forsaken the house of God?” And I gathered them together, and I caused them to stand at their stations.

12And all of Judah brought the tithes of the grain, and the wine, and the oil into the storehouses.

13And we appointed over the storehouses, Shelemiah, the priest, and Zadok, the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites, and next to them Hanan, the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah. For they had proven to be faithful. And so the portions of their brothers were entrusted to them.

14Remember me, O my God, because of this, and may you not wipe away my acts of compassion, which I have done for the house of my God and for his ceremonies.

15In those days, I saw, in Judah, some who were treading the presses on the Sabbath, and who were carrying sheaves, and placing on donkeys burdens of wine, and of grapes, and of figs, and all manner of burdens, and who were bringing these into Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath. And I contended with them, so that they would sell on a day when it was permitted to sell.

16And some Tyrians dwelt within, who were bringing fish and all kinds of items for sale. And they were selling on the Sabbaths to the sons of Judah in Jerusalem.

17And I put the nobles of Judah under oath, and I said to them: “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?

18Did not our fathers do these things, and so our God brought all this evil upon us and upon this city? And you are adding more wrath upon Israel by violating the Sabbath!”

19And it happened that, when the gates of Jerusalem had rested on the day of the Sabbath, I spoke, and they closed the gates. And I instructed that they should not open them until after the Sabbath. And I appointed some of my servants over the gates, so that no one would carry in a burden on the day of the Sabbath.

20And so the merchants and those who sold all kinds of items remained just outside of Jerusalem, once and again.

21And I contended with them, and I said to them: “Why are you remaining just beyond the wall? If you do this again, I will send hands upon you.” And so, from that time, they no longer came on the Sabbath.

22I also spoke to the Levites, so that they would be cleansed, and would arrive to guard the gates and to sanctify the day of the Sabbath. Because of this also, O my God, remember me and spare me, in accord with the multitude of your mercies.

23But also in those days, I saw some Jews taking wives from the Ashdodites, and the Ammonites, and the Moabites.

24And their sons spoke partly in the speech of Ashdod, and they did not know how to speak the Jewish language, and they were speaking according to the language of one people or another.

25And I put them under oath, and I cursed them. And I struck some of their men, and I shaved off their hair, and I made them swear to God that they would not give their daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for their sons, nor for themselves, saying:

26“Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin in this kind of thing? And certainly, among many nations, there was no king similar to him, and he was beloved of his God, and God set him as king over all of Israel. And yet foreign women led even him into sin!

27So how could we disobey and do all this great evil, so that we would transgress against our God, and take foreign wives?”

28Now one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib, the high priest, was a son-in-law to Sanballat, a Horonite, and I made him flee from me.

29O Lord, my God, remember against those who defile the priesthood and the law of the priests and the Levites!

30And so I cleansed them from all foreigners, and I established the orders of the priests and the Levites, each one in his ministry.

31O my God, remember me also, for good, because of the offering of wood, at the appointed times, and because of the first-fruits. Amen.