13

Principles of Separation

¹On that day ⚓they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written ⚓that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God, ²because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but ⚓hired Balaam against them to curse them. ⚓However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³So it was, when they had heard the Law, ⚓that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.

The Reforms of Nehemiah

⁴Now before this, ⚓Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with ⚓Tobiah. ⁵And he had prepared for him a large room, ⚓where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, ⚓which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. ⁶But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, ⚓for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king, ⁷and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in ⚓preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. ⁸And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. ⁹Then I commanded them to ⚓cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
¹⁰I also realized that the portions for the Levites had ⚓not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to ⚓his field. ¹¹So ⚓I contended with the rulers, and said, ⚓“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. ¹²⚓Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. ¹³⚓And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered ⚓faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.
¹⁴⚓Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!
¹⁵In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses ⚓on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, ⚓which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. ¹⁶Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
¹⁷Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? ¹⁸⚓Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
¹⁹So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it ⚓began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. ⚓Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. ²⁰Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.
²¹Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath. ²²And I commanded the Levites that ⚓they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.
Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!
²³In those days I also saw Jews who⚓had married women of ⚓Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.
²⁵So I ⚓contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them ⚓swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. ²⁶⚓Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, ⚓who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. ⚓Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. ²⁷Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, ⚓transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?”
²⁸And one of the sons ⚓of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of ⚓Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.
²⁹⚓Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and ⚓the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
³⁰⚓Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also ⚓assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service, ³¹and to bringing⚓the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times.
⚓Remember me, O my God, for good!

13

Nehemi tswm khu dua tshab

¹Nub ntawd puab nyeem Mauxe phoo ntawv rua cov pejxeem noog mas puab pum qhov kws sau ca has tas, tsw xob kheev cov Aamoo hab cov Mau‑a koom nrug Vaajtswv haiv tuabneeg moog ib txhws, ²tsua qhov puab tsw tau muab mov hab dej lug tog txais cov Yixayee tassws puab tseed ndav Npala‑aa tuaj tsawm foom cov Yixayee. Tassws peb tug Vaajtswv muab tej lug foom hov ntxeev ua koob moov. ³Thaus cov pejxeem nov txuj kevcai hov puab txawm muab txhua tug kws yog lwm haiv tuabneeg le keeb cais tawm huv cov Yixayee.
⁴Ua ntej nuav tug pov thawj Eliyasi kws tau raug tsaa ua tug kws saib tej chaav huv peb tug Vaajtswv lub tuam tsev hab nrug Thaunpia ua phoojywg, ⁵tau tu ib chaav daav rua Thaunpia, yog chaav kws txeev swv khaws tej kws ua kevcai xyeem qoob loos, roj ntoos tsw qaab, tej pestwj swv hab ib feem kaum kws yog qoob, cawv txwv maab tshab hab roj kws puab pub lawv le txuj kevcai rua cov Levi hab cov hu nkauj hab cov kws zuv tej rooj loog, hab tej kws pub rua cov pov thawj. ⁶Thaus kws muaj tej xwm txheej nuav kuv tsw nyob huv Yeluxalee tsua qhov xyoo peb caug ob kws Athaxawxi ua vaajntxwv huv Npanpiloo, kuv moog cuag vaajntxwv. Nyob ntev loo kuv le thov vaajntxwv ca kuv rov lug. ⁷Kuv txhad rov lug rua huv Yeluxalee mas kuv le paub tej kev phem kws Eliyasi tau ua paab Thaunpia, yog qhov kws tu ib chaav ntawm lub tshaav puam Vaajtswv lub tuam tsev rua nwg. ⁸Kuv txhad chim heev hab kuv muab Thaunpia tej cuab txhaj cuab taam rhu huv chaav tsev hov laim pov tseg huvsw. ⁹Hab kuv has kuas ua kevcai ntxuav chaav hov hab kuv coj tej pestwj swv huv Vaajtswv lub tuam tsev, hab tej kws swv ua kevcai xyeem qoob loos hab cov roj ntoos tsw qaab rov lug ca rua huv tej qub chaw.
¹⁰Hab kuv kuj nov tas cov Levi le feem mas puab tsw muab rua cov Levi. Vem le nuav cov Levi hab cov hu nkauj kws ua num txhad nyag tswv moog rua huv nyag tej teb lawm. ¹¹Kuv txhad ywg cov thawj hab has tas, “Ua caag muab Vaajtswv lub tuam tsev tso tseg?” Kuv txhad qaws puab rov lug hab tsaa puab rov ua puab teg num dua. ¹²Mas cov Yuta suavdawg coj ib feem kaum kws yog qoob, cawv txwv maab tshab hab roj tuaj tso rua huv tej txhaab. ¹³Hab kuv tsaa tuabneeg saib tej txhaab hov, yog pov thawj Selemiya, xwbfwb Xantau hab Pentaya kws yog ib tug Levi hab tsaa Xakaw tug tub Hanaa kws yog Mathaniya tug xeeb ntxwv ua tug kws paab puab, tsua qhov suav has tas puab yog cov kws tso sab tau. Puab le num yog faib rua puab cov kwvtij. ¹⁴Au kuv tug Vaajtswv, thov koj ncu txug kuv rua zaaj nuav hab thov tsw xob rhuav tej num zoo kws kuv tau ua rua kuv tug Vaajtswv lub tuam tsev hab tej kws ua paab txujkev kws ua koom rua Vaajtswv.
¹⁵Thaus ntawd huv Yuta kuv pum tuabneeg tsuam kua txwv maab rua nub Xanpatau hab sau tej nam pawg qoob rua neeg luav thauj hab thauj cawv txwv maab tej txwv maab txwv cua hab txhua yaam nraa coj lug rua huv Yeluxalee rua nub Xanpatau. Kuv txhad le ntuag puab rua nub kws puab muag zaub mov hov. ¹⁶Hab cov tuabneeg Thailab kws nyob huv lub nroog coj ntseg hab txhua yaam lug muag rua nub Xanpatau rua cov pejxeem Yuta hab huv Yeluxalee. ¹⁷Tes kuv txhad has nyaav rua cov kws ua hlub huv Yuta hab has rua puab tas, “Mej ua phem daabtsw le nuav, ua qas puag tsuas nub Xanpatau? ¹⁸Mej tej laug tsw tau ua le nuav lov? Peb tug Vaajtswv tsw tau coj tej xwm txheej phem nuav huvsw lug raug peb hab lub nroog nuav lov, es mej tseed yuav coj txujkev npau tawg heev dua le hov lug raug cov Yixayee vem yog mej ua qas puag tsuas nub Xanpatau?”
¹⁹Mo kws yuav txug nub Xanpatau thaus yuav tsaus ntuj kuv has kuas kaw tej rooj loog tsw xob qheb moog txug dhau nub Xanpatau tsaiv, hab kuv tsaa kuv cov tub teg tub taw qee leej saib tej rooj loog txhad txwv tsw kheev thauj ib yaam nraa daabtsw lug rua huv rua nub Xanpatau. ²⁰Mas cov tub luam hab cov kws coj txhua yaam tuaj muag txhad pw ib mo saab nrau lub nroog Yeluxalee ib ob zag. ²¹Kuv ntuag puab hab has rua puab tas, “Ua caag mej tuaj pw saab nrau lub ntsaa loog? Yog mej tseed tuaj dua hab, kuv yuav nteg mej.” Txwj thaus hov lug puab tsw tuaj rua nub Xanpatau dua le lawm. ²²Hab kuv has kuas cov Levi tu puab tug kheej kuas dawb huv hab tuaj zuv tej rooj loog, txhad le ua tau kuas nub Xanpatau dawb huv.
Au kuv tug Vaajtswv, thov koj ncu txug kuv rua zaaj nuav hab thov koj tseg kuv txujsa ca lawv le koj txujkev hlub luj kawg kws ruaj khov.
²³Thaus ntawd kuv kuj pum cov Yutai kws yuav cov tuabneeg Asantau, Aamoo hab Mau‑a tej ntxhais ua quaspuj, ²⁴hab puab tej mivnyuas ib nraab has lug Asantau, puab has tsw tau lug Yuta tsuas yog nyag has nyag yaam lug xwb. ²⁵Kuv txhad tshev puab hab foom puab hab ntaus puab qee leej hab dob puab plaubhau pov tseg, hab kuv kuas puab tuav Vaajtswv lub npe cog lug twv. Kuv has tas, “Mej tsw xob muab mej tej ntxhais qua rua puab tej tub, hab tsw xob yuav puab tej ntxhais rua mej tej tub lossws mej tug kheej. ²⁶Cov Yixayee tug vaajntxwv Xalaumoo tsw tau ua txhum tsua qhov kws nwg yuav quaspuj le nuav lov? Huv ib tsoom tebchaws tsw muaj ib tug vaajntxwv twg zoo cuag le nwg hab nwg tug Vaajtswv kuj hlub nwg, Vaajtswv pub nwg ua vaajntxwv kaav cov Yixayee huvsw. Txawm le ntawd los tej quaspuj kws yog lwm haiv tuabneeg tseed ua rua nwg ua txhum. ²⁷Tseed tswm nyog peb yuav noog mej hab ua tej kev phem luj nuav huvsw hab faav xeeb rua peb tug Vaajtswv es moog yuav lwm haiv tuabneeg tej ntxhais lug ua quaspuj lov?”
²⁸Tug tuam pov thawj hlub Eliyasi tug tub Yehauyanta muaj ib tug tub kws ua Xaanpala kws yog tuabneeg Hauloo le vauv, vem le nuav kuv txhad muab nwg ntab tswv ntawm kuv moog. ²⁹Au kuv tug Vaajtswv, thov koj ncu txug puab tsua qhov puab tau ua qas puag tsuas qhov kws ua pov thawj hab ua qas puag tsuas tej lug kws koj cog tseg rua cov pov thawj hab cov Levi.
³⁰Kuv txhad muab txhua yaam kws yog lwm haiv tuabneeg le ntxuav ntawm puab moog le nuav. Hab kuv tu daag num rua cov pov thawj hab cov Levi, nyag ua nyag feem. ³¹Hab kuv teem kuas coj tawg tuaj pub lawv le swjhawm kws teem ca lawd hab coj thawj phaum qoob loos tuaj.

Au kuv tug Vaajtswv, thov ncu txug kuv hab hlub kuv.