Nehemiah 13:1–9

Nehemiah’s Further Reforms

13At that time ^wthe book of Moses ^xwas read publicly to ^ythe people. ^zThe command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite ^ashould ever enter the assembly of God, ^b2because they did not meet the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam against them to curse them, ^cbut our God turned the curse into a blessing. ^d3When they heard the law, they separated all those of mixed descent ^efrom Israel.

⁴Now before this, Eliashib the priest ^fhad been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. ^gHe was a relative ^hof Tobiah ⁱ⁵and had prepared a large room for him where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, and the tenths of grain, new wine, and oil ^jprescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests. ^k

⁶While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to King Artaxerxes ^lof Babylon ^min the thirty-second year of his reign. ⁿIt was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence ^o7so I could return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God’s house. ⁸I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household possessions out of the room. ⁹I ordered that the rooms be purified, ^pand I had the articles of the house of God restored there, along with the grain offering and frankincense. ^q