Nehemias’ reformer
1Da Toraen blev læst op for folket, opdagede man, at der stod skrevet deri, at ingen ammonitter eller moabitter kunne blive indlemmet i Guds folk.13,1 Jf. 5.Mos. 23,4-7. 2Grunden til denne bestemmelse var, at disse folk ikke havde vist israelitterne gæstfrihed, dengang de stod på grænsen til Kana’ans land, men i stedet havde betalt Bileam for at forbande dem. Gud forvandlede dog forbandelsen til velsignelse. 3Da det afsnit blev læst op, tog man straks konsekvensen og udelukkede alle af blandet herkomst fra forsamlingen.
4-5Nogen tid forinden var præsten Eljashib blevet udpeget til at have overopsyn med templets forrådskamre. Han havde imidlertid overdraget et stort forrådskammer til Tobija, fordi de var i familie. Forrådskamrene var ellers beregnet til opbevaring af afgrødeofre, røgelse, redskaber til brug i templet og tiende af korn, vin og olivenolie, så der kunne være mad til præsterne, levitterne, sangerne og tempelvagterne, sådan som Moses havde foreskrevet. 6På det tidspunkt var jeg ikke i Jerusalem, for jeg var rejst tilbage til kong Artaxerxes i Babylon. Det var i hans 32. regeringsår. Et stykke tid efter fik jeg tilladelse til at vende tilbage til Jerusalem, 7og da jeg ved hjemkomsten opdagede, hvor skandaløst Eljashib havde handlet ved at overdrage et af templets forrådskamre til Tobija, 8blev jeg meget vred og smed alle Tobijas ting ud af kammeret. 9Så forlangte jeg, at kammeret skulle renses, og at redskaberne, afgrødeofrene og røgelsen skulle bringes tilbage på deres plads.
10Ved samme lejlighed blev jeg klar over, at levitterne ikke havde fået de gaver, de havde krav på. Derfor var både de og tempelsangerne rejst hjem for at passe deres dyr og marker. 11Straks konfronterede jeg lederne med denne forsømmelse over for Guds hus, hvorefter jeg kaldte levitterne tilbage til deres opgaver i templet 12og bragte forholdene i orden, så Judas folk igen sendte tienden af deres korn, vin og olivenolie til forrådskamrene.
13Fra da af gav jeg præsten Shelemja, sekretæren Zadok og levitten Pedaja ansvaret for at administrere forrådet—og de fik Hanan, søn af Zakkur, søn af Mattanja, til hjælp. Disse mænd havde ry for at være pålidelige, og derfor fik de betroet opgaven med at fordele tienden blandt de øvrige levitter.
14Min Gud, glem ikke min trofasthed og alt det, jeg har gjort til gavn for tjenesten i dit tempel.
15Jeg lagde siden mærke til, at nogle judæere pressede vindruer på sabbatten, mens andre læssede korn, vin, druer, figner og andre afgrøder på deres æsler for at tage ind til Jerusalem og sælge dem. Derfor gav jeg dem en alvorlig advarsel om, at det måtte de ikke gøre på en sabbat.
16Der var også folk fra Tyrus, som boede i Jerusalem, og som bragte fisk og alle mulige varer ind til byen for at sælge dem til judæerne på sabbatsdagen. 17Da sagde jeg til Judas ledere: „Hvorfor holder I ikke sabbatten hellig? 18Har I glemt, at jeres forfædre heller ikke gjorde det, og at vi endnu lider under konsekvenserne? Vil I nu yderligere provokere Gud og forværre straffen for Israels folk ved at vanhellige sabbatten?”
19Fra da af forlangte jeg, at byportene skulle holdes lukket for de handlende lige fra sabbattens begyndelse fredag aften ved mørkets frembrud, og indtil sabbatteb var forbi. Og jeg satte folk til at holde vagt ved portene, så ingen kunne slippe ind med varer på sabbatten. 20Da nogle handlende derefter slog sig ned uden for bymuren for at sælge deres varer der, 21advarede jeg dem: „Næste gang jeg finder jer udenfor muren, bliver I arresteret!” Siden den tid holdt de sig borte på sabbatsdagen.
22Derefter gav jeg levitterne ordre til at gennemgå renselsesritualet og sørge for at bevogte portene, så sabbatten fremover kunne holdes hellig.
Min Gud, glem ikke hvad jeg har gjort for dig. Se i nåde til mig på grund af din trofaste kærlighed.
23Omkring den tid lagde jeg mærke til, at i de familier, hvor mændene havde giftet sig med kvinder fra Ashdod, Ammon eller Moab, 24talte mindst halvdelen af børnene deres mors sprog, og de kunne ikke tale judæernes sprog. 25Da skældte jeg mændene ud og forbandede dem. Nogle af dem slog jeg, eller jeg trak dem i håret, og jeg mindede dem om Guds befaling: „I må ikke give jeres døtre til mænd fra fremmede folkeslag, og hverken I eller jeres sønner må tage fremmede kvinder til ægte! 26Var det ikke netop den synd, der fældede kong Salomon? Der var ingen konge som han! Gud elskede ham og gjorde ham til konge over hele Israel, men selv han blev forført til afgudsdyrkelse ved at gifte sig med fremmede kvinder! 27Skal vi virkelig høre om jer, at I gifter jer med fremmede kvinder og på den måde er troløse overfor vores Gud?”
28Jojada var søn af ypperstepræsten Eljashib, og en af Jojadas sønner havde giftet sig med en datter af Sanballat fra Bet-Horon. Derfor afsatte jeg ham som præst. 29Min Gud, drag dem til ansvar for, at de med deres handlinger har vanhelliget præsteembedet og brudt den pagt, som præsterne og levitterne på en særlig måde burde overholde.
30Således rensede jeg ud blandt folket, og jeg opstillede regler for præsternes og levitternes pligter og opgaver. 31Jeg sørgede også for, at der blev bragt alterbrænde til rette tid, og at folket gav de foreskrevne høstofre af markens første afgrøder.
Min Gud, glem ikke det gode, jeg har gjort.
1At that time the Book of Moses was read out loud. All the people heard it. It was written there that no Ammonite or Moabite could ever become a member of God’s community. 2That’s because they hadn’t given the people of Israel food and water. Instead, they had hired Balaam to put a curse on them. But our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3When that law was read, the people of Judah obeyed it. They sent out of Israel everyone who was from another nation.
4Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms in the house of our God. He had worked closely with Tobiah. 5He had also provided a large room for Tobiah. It had been used to store the grain offerings. The incense and the objects for the temple had been put there. And a tenth of the grain, olive oil and fresh wine had been kept there. That’s what the Law required for the Levites. That’s also what it required for the musicians and the men who guarded the temple gates. The gifts for the priests had been kept there too.
6But I wasn’t in Jerusalem while all of that was going on. I had returned to the Persian King Artaxerxes, the king of Babylon. I went to him in the 32nd year of his rule. Some time later I asked him to let me return to Jerusalem. 7When I got back, I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done. He had provided a room for Tobiah. It was in the courtyards of God’s house. 8So I was very unhappy. I threw all of Tobiah’s things out of the room. 9I gave orders to make the rooms pure and “clean” again. Then I put the supplies from God’s house back into them. That included the grain offerings and the incense.
10I also learned that the shares the Levites were supposed to receive hadn’t been given to them. So all the Levites and musicians had to leave their regular temple duties. They had to go back and farm their own fields. 11I gave a warning to the officials. I asked them, “Why aren’t you taking care of God’s house?” Then I brought the Levites and musicians together. I stationed them in their proper places. I put them back to work.
12All the people of Judah brought a tenth of the grain, olive oil and fresh wine. They took it to the storerooms. 13I put some men in charge of the storerooms. They were Shelemiah, Zadok and Pedaiah. Shelemiah was a priest. Zadok was a teacher of the law. And Pedaiah was a Levite. I made Hanan their assistant. He was the son of Zakkur. Zakkur was the son of Mattaniah. I knew that these men could be trusted. They were put in charge of handing out the supplies to the other Levites.
14You are my God. Remember me because of what I’ve done. I’ve worked faithfully for your temple and its services. So please don’t forget the good things I’ve done.
15In those days I saw some people of Judah stomping on grapes in winepresses. They were doing it on the Sabbath day. Other people were bringing in grain. They were loading it on donkeys. Still other people were loading up wine, grapes, figs and other kinds of things. They were bringing all of it into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them not to sell food on that day. 16People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish. In fact, they were bringing in all kinds of goods. They were selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. The people of Judah were buying them. 17I gave a warning to the nobles of Judah. I said, “Why are you doing such an evil thing? You are misusing the Sabbath day! 18Your people of long ago did the very same things. That’s why our God has brought all this trouble on us. That’s why he’s making this city suffer so much. Now you are making him even angrier against Israel. You are misusing the Sabbath day.”
19Evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath day started. So I ordered the gates to be shut. They had to remain closed until the Sabbath day was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates. I told them not to let anything be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20Once or twice some traders and sellers spent the night outside Jerusalem. They were hoping to sell all kinds of goods. 21But I gave them a warning. I said, “Why are you spending the night by the wall? If you do this again, I’ll arrest you.” So from that time on they didn’t come on the Sabbath day anymore. 22I commanded the Levites to make themselves pure. Then I told them to go and guard the gates. I wanted the Sabbath day to be kept holy.
You are my God. Remember me because of the good things I’ve done. Be kind to me according to your great love.
23In those days I also saw that some men of Judah had married women from Ashdod. Others had married women from Ammon or Moab. 24Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod. Or they spoke the language of one of the other nations. They didn’t even know how to speak the language of Judah. 25So I gave them a warning. I cursed them. I beat up some of them. I pulled their hair out. I had them make a promise in God’s name. I said, “You must promise not to give your daughters to be married to their sons. You must promise not to let their daughters marry your sons. And you must not marry their daughters either. 26That’s how Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned. He married women from other nations. There wasn’t a king like him anywhere. His God loved him. In fact, God made him king over the whole nation of Israel. But even he was led into sin by women from other lands. 27Now I hear that you too are doing all of the same terrible and evil things. You aren’t being faithful to our God. You are marrying women from other lands.”
28One of the sons of Joiada was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Joiada, the son of Eliashib, was the high priest. I drove Joiada’s son away from me.
29You are my God. Remember what those priests have done. They have brought shame to their own work. They have also brought shame to the covenant that God made with the priests and Levites long ago.
30So I made the priests and Levites pure. I made them pure from every practice that had come from other countries and had made them impure. I gave them their duties. Each one had his own job to do. 31I also made plans for gifts of wood to be brought at certain appointed times. And I made plans for the first share of the crops to be brought.
You are my God. Please remember me with kindness.
