Nehemiah 13:20-1953 kjv — So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them,…

“So the merchants and sellers of all kind of wares lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember unto me, O my God, this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy lovingkindness. In those days also saw I the Jews that had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, andof Moab: and their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God in marrying foreign women? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. Thus cleansed I them from all foreigners, and appointed charges for the priests and for the Levites, every one in his work; and for the wood-offering, at times appointed, and for the first-fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. ”

“So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside of Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said to them, "Why do you stay around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on, they didn't come on the Sabbath. I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember to me, my God, this also, and spare me according to the greatness of your loving kindness. In those days also saw I the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, [and] of Moab: and their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. I contended with them, and cursed them, and struck certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, [saying], "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves. Didn't Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God in marrying foreign women?" One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. Thus I cleansed them from all foreigners, and appointed duties for the priests and for the Levites, everyone in his work; and for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the first fruits. Remember me, my God, for good.”

“The traders and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said,“Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath. Then I directed the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.For this please remember me, O my God, and have pity on me in keeping with your great love. Also in those days I saw the men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod(or the language of one of the other peoples mentioned) and were unable to speak the language of Judah. So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying,“You will not marry off your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! Was it not because of things like these that King Solomon 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 the foreign wives made even him sin! Should we then in your case hear that you do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign wives?” Now one of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So I banished him from my sight. Please remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, the covenant of the priesthood, and the Levites. So I purified them of everything foreign, and I assigned specific duties to the priests and the Levites. I also provided for the wood offering at the appointed times and also for the first fruits. Please remember me for good, O my God.”

“So the merchants, and they that sold all kinds of wares, stayed without Jerusalem, once or twice. And 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. I 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. In those days also I saw Jews that married wives, women of Azotus, and of Ammon, and of Moab. And 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. And 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: Did 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. And shall we also be disobedient and do all this great evil to transgress against our God, and marry strange women: And 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. Remember them, O Lord my God, that defile the priesthood, and the law of priests and Levites. So I separated from them all strangers, and I appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites, every man in his ministry: And for the offering of wood at times appointed, and for the firstfruits: remember me, O my God, unto good. Amen. ”

“So the traders in all sorts of goods took their night's rest outside Jerusalem once or twice. Then I gave witness against them and said, Why are you waiting all night by the wall? if you do so again I will have you taken prisoners. From that time they did not come again on the Sabbath. And I gave the Levites orders to make themselves clean and come and keep the doors and make the Sabbath holy. Keep this in mind to my credit, O my God, and have mercy on me, for great is your mercy. And in those days I saw the Jews who were married to women of Ashdod and Ammon and Moab: And their children were talking half in the language of Ashdod; they had no knowledge of the Jews' language, but made use of the language of the two peoples. And I took up the cause against them, cursing them and giving blows to some of them and pulling out their hair; and I made them take an oath by God, saying, You are not to give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Was it not in these things that Solomon, king of Israel, did wrong? among a number of nations there was no king like him, and he was dear to his God, and God made him king over all Israel: but even he was made to do evil by strange women. Are we then without protest to let you do all this great evil, sinning against our God by taking strange women for your wives? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib, the chief priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: so I sent him away from me. Keep them in mind, O my God, because they have put shame on the priests' name and on the agreement of the priests and the Levites. So I made them clean from all strange people, and had regular watches fixed for the priests and for the Levites, everyone in his work; And for the wood offering, at fixed times, and for the first fruits. Keep me in mind, O my God, for good.”

“So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business; And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. ”