Nehemiah’s Final Reforms
1On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, 2because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) 3When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
4Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 5and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.
6But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission 7and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 8I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.
10I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. 11So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.
12All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms. 13I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.
14Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.
15In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. 16People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. 17I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? 18Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.”
19When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. 21But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. 22Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.
Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.
23Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. 25I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. 26Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. 27Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?”
28One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me.
29Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
30So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. 31I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits.
Remember me with favor, my God.
與外族人隔離
1那天，有人給民眾宣讀摩西律法書時，發現書上說亞捫人和摩押人永不可加入上帝的會眾。 2因為他們沒有用食物和水接待以色列人，還雇巴蘭咒詛他們，但我們的上帝將咒詛變為祝福。 3以色列人聽到律法書上的話，便逐出所有外族人。
尼希米的改革
4這事之前，被委派負責上帝殿庫房的以利亞實祭司因與多比雅是親戚， 5就為多比雅預備了一個大房間，這房間從前用來存放素祭、乳香、器皿，還有按律法給利未人、歌樂手、殿門守衛的十分之一五穀、新酒和新油，以及給祭司的舉祭。 6這一切發生的時候，我不在耶路撒冷，因為我已在巴比倫王亞達薛西三十二年回到王那裡。過了一段日子，我向王請假離開。 7我返回耶路撒冷後，才得知以利亞實在上帝殿的院內為多比雅預備房間的惡事。 8我非常憤怒，把多比雅所有的物品扔出房間， 9下令潔淨那些房間，然後搬回上帝殿內的器皿、素祭和乳香。
10我發現利未人沒有得到應得之份，以致當值的利未人和歌樂手都跑回自己的田地。 11我斥責眾首領說：「為何忽略上帝的殿？」然後，我招聚利未人，叫他們各歸各職。 12猶大人都把他們的五穀、新酒和新油的十分之一送進庫房。 13我派示利米雅祭司、律法教師撒督及利未人毗大雅管理庫房，並派撒刻的兒子、瑪他尼的孫子哈難做他們的助手。這些人忠誠可靠，他們負責把物品分配給他們的弟兄。 14我的上帝啊，求你因這事而記念我，不要塗抹我為上帝的殿和其中的敬拜禮儀所做的善事。
15那些日子，我在猶大看見有人在安息日榨酒，用驢馱運禾捆，又在安息日把酒、葡萄、無花果和各樣出產帶進耶路撒冷。我就在他們賣食物的那天警告他們。 16一些住在耶路撒冷的泰爾人運來魚和各樣貨物，在安息日賣給耶路撒冷的猶大人。 17我斥責猶大的貴族說：「你們為何做這惡事干犯安息日？ 18你們的祖先難道不是犯了這樣的罪，以致我們的上帝使一切災禍臨到我們和這城嗎？如今你們干犯安息日，使上帝的憤怒越發臨到以色列。」
19我下令在安息日之前夜幕來臨時關上耶路撒冷城門，一直到安息日完畢才打開。我又派我的一些僕人把守城門，不准在安息日帶貨物進城。 20有一兩次，商人和販賣各樣貨物的曾在耶路撒冷城外住宿。 21我警告他們說：「你們為什麼在城牆外面住宿呢？若再這樣，我必拘捕你們。」從此，他們就不再在安息日來了。 22我吩咐利未人潔淨自己，然後來看守城門，尊安息日為聖日。我的上帝啊，求你因此而眷顧我，按你豐盛的慈愛憐憫我。
23那些日子，我見猶大人娶了亞實突、亞捫和摩押的女子為妻。 24他們半數的子女說亞實突話或其他外族人的話，不懂得猶大話。 25我就斥責他們，咒詛他們，打了他們其中一些人，又扯他們的頭髮，要他們奉上帝的名起誓不再讓自己的子女與外族人通婚，自己也不娶外族女子。 26我說：「這豈不是以色列王所羅門所犯的罪嗎？眾國中沒有王可與他相比，他的上帝愛他，立他做全以色列的王。然而，連他也被外族女子引入罪中。 27我怎能聽憑你們行這大惡，因娶外族女子而背叛我們的上帝呢？」 28以利亞實大祭司之子耶何耶大有個兒子娶了和倫人參巴拉的女兒，我就把他趕了出去。 29我的上帝啊，求你記住他們，因為他們玷污了祭司的職分，違背了你與祭司和利未人所立的約。
30這樣，我清除了他們當中的一切外族之物，並指定祭司和利未人的職分，使他們各盡其職， 31又讓民眾定期供應木柴和初熟的物產。
我的上帝啊，求你眷顧我，施恩於我。
