圣经On that day, while reading the law of Moses to the people, they found it written, ‘The children of Ammon and the children of Moab shall never enter the assembly of God.’.
Because they did not bring food or water to meet the Israelites, and hired Balaam to curse them, but our God turned that curse into a blessing.
When the people of Israel heard this law, they severed ties with all those who were idle.
First, Eliashib, the priest appointed to manage the treasury of our temple, married Tobiah.
So he prepared a large room for him, which used to store grain offerings, frankincense, utensils, and a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil that were given to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers according to the command, and the room where the priests offered sacrifices.
I was not in Jerusalem at that time. Because in the thirty second year of King Ataxerxes of Babylon, I returned to the king. After several days, I took a leave of absence from Wang.
When I came to Jerusalem, I found out that Elijah had prepared a house for Tobiah in the courtyard of the temple of God.
I was very angry and threw all the furniture of Dobiya out of the house.
And he commanded that the house be cleansed, and brought in the vessels of the temple, the meat offering, and the frankincense.
I saw that there was no one to provide the Levites with the portion they deserved, so that the Levites and the singers who served each ran back to their own fields.
I rebuked the officials and said, Why have you abandoned the temple of God? I gathered the Levites and made them continue to serve.
The majority of the people sent one tenth of their grains, new wine, and oil to the storage room.
I have appointed Sheremiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedayah the Levite as treasurers to manage the treasury. The deputy is Ha Nan. Hanan is the son of Zaccur. Zake was the son of Mattaniah. These people are all faithful, and their duty is to distribute what is provided to their brothers.
Remember me, O my God, because of this matter, and do not blot out the good that I have done for the temple of God and its rituals.
In those days, I saw in Judah someone treading the wine press on the Sabbath, carrying sheaves on donkeys. And I brought wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens into Jerusalem on the Sabbath, and I warned them on the day they sold food.
And there were also people of Tyre living in Jerusalem. They brought in fish and various goods and sold them to the Jews on the Sabbath.
I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said, “How have you done this evil thing and violated the Sabbath?”?
Did your ancestors not do this before, that our God brought all calamity upon us and this city? Now you are still violating the Sabbath, causing your anger to come even more upon Israel.
On the day before the Sabbath, when there was a dark shadow at the gate of Jerusalem, I ordered people to lock the door, but it was not allowed to be opened on the Sabbath. I have also sent some of my servants to manage the city gates, so that no one may carry any burden into the city on the Sabbath.
So merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods stayed outside the city of Jerusalem once or twice.
I warned them, saying, Why do you stay outside the city? If this continues, I will take action against you. From then on, they will no longer come on the Sabbath.
I command the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the city gates, sanctifying the Sabbath. Remember me, O my God, because of this matter, and have mercy on me according to your great mercy.
In those days, I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
Their children speak half of the language of Ashdod, they do not speak the language of Judah, but speak according to the dialects of their respective tribes.
I rebuked them, cursed them, struck a few of them, pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God that they would not marry their daughters to the sons of foreigners, nor would they marry their daughters for themselves and their sons.
And I said, Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in such a thing? There is no king like him among many nations, and he is loved by his God, who has made him king over all Israel. However, even he was tempted by foreign women to commit crimes.
So, will I hear you do this great evil, marrying foreign women to offend our God?
One of the sons of Jehoiada, the grandson of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him out from me.
My God, remember their sins. Because they have defiled the priesthood and violated the covenant you made with the priests and Levites.
In this way, I purified them and separated them from all the Gentiles, and appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites, so that each of them could fulfill their duties.
I also sent the people to regularly offer firewood and the first ripe crops. Remember me, O my God, be kind to me.
