15 In those days I have seen in Judah those treading wine-vats on sabbath, and bringing in the sheaves, and lading on the asses, and also, wine, grapes, and figs, and every burden, yea, they are bringing in to Jerusalem on the sabbath-day, and I testify in the day of their selling provision.
and the peoples of the land who are bringing in the wares and any corn on the sabbath-day to sell, we receive not of them on the sabbath, and on a holy day, and we leave the seventh year, and usury on every hand.
and I testify against them, and say unto them, `Wherefore are ye lodging over-against the wall? if ye repeat `it', a hand I put forth upon you;' from that time they have not come in on the sabbath.
Thus said Jehovah, Take ye heed to yourselves, And ye bear not a burden on the day of rest, Nor have ye brought `it' in by the gates of Jerusalem. Nor do ye take out a burden from your houses on the day of rest, Yea, any work ye do not do, And ye have sanctified the day of rest, As I have commanded your fathers.
If thou dost turn from the sabbath thy foot, Doing thine own pleasure on My holy day, And hast cried to the sabbath, `A delight,' To the holy of Jehovah, `Honoured,' And hast honoured it, without doing thine own ways, Without finding thine own pleasure, And speaking a word.
`Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it; six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, and the seventh day `is' a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, -- for six days hath Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that `is' in them, and resteth in the seventh day; therefore hath Jehovah blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it.
And the sons of Israel are in the wilderness, and they find a man gathering wood on the sabbath-day, and those finding him gathering wood bring him near unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto all the company, and they place him in ward, for it `is' not explained what is `to be' done to him. And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `The man is certainly put to death, all the company stoning him with stones, at the outside of the camp.' And all the company bring him out unto the outside of the camp, and stone him with stones, and he dieth, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
And -- rebel against me do the house of Israel in the wilderness, In My statutes they have not walked, And My judgments they have despised, Which the man who doth -- liveth by them. And My sabbaths they have greatly polluted, And I say to pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.
And if ye do not hearken unto me to sanctify the day of rest, And so as not to bear a burden, And to come in at the gates of Jerusalem on the day of rest, Then I have kindled a fire in its gates, And it hath consumed the high places of Jerusalem, And it is not quenched!'
And it hath been, if ye certainly hearken unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah, So as not to bring in a burden By the gates of this city on the day of rest, And to sanctify the day of rest, So as not to do in it any work --
`And it hath been -- if thou really forget Jehovah thy God, and hast gone after other gods, and served them, and bowed thyself to them, I have testified against you to-day that ye do utterly perish;
`Observe the day of the sabbath -- to sanctify it, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, and the seventh day `is' a sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and thy sojourner who `is' within thy gates; so that thy man-servant, and thy handmaid doth rest like thyself;
Six days is work done, and on the seventh day there is to you a holy `day', a sabbath of rest to Jehovah; any who doeth work in it is put to death;
`For I testify to every one hearing the words of the prophecy of this scroll, if any one may add unto these, God shall add to him the plagues that have been written in this scroll, and if any one may take away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the scroll of the life, and out of the holy city, and the things that have been written in this scroll;'
and dost testify against them, to bring them back unto Thy law; and they -- they have acted proudly, and have not hearkened to Thy commands, and against Thy judgments have sinned, -- which man doth and hath lived in them -- and they give a refractory shoulder, and their neck have hardened, and have not hearkened.
And He sendeth among them prophets, to bring them back unto Jehovah, and they testify against them, and they have not given ear;
that no one go beyond and defraud in the matter his brother, because an avenger `is' the Lord of all these, as also we spake before to you and testified,
and I testify again to every man circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law;
testifying fully both to Jews and Greeks, toward God reformation, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
O My people, what have I done to thee? And what -- have I wearied thee? Testify against Me.
`Jehovah hath spoken against you, O remnant of Judah, do not enter Egypt: know certainly that I have testified against you to-day;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Nehemiah 13
Commentary on Nehemiah 13 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 13
Nehemiah, having finished what he undertook for the fencing and filling of the holy city, returned to the king his master, who was not willing to be long without him, as appears (v. 6). But, after some time, he obtained leave to come back again to Jerusalem, to redress grievances, and purge out some corruptions which had crept in in his absence; and very active he was in reforming several abuses, which here we have an account of.
Neh 13:1-9
It was the honour of Israel, and the greatest preservation of their holiness, that they were a peculiar people, and were so to keep themselves, and not to mingle with the nations, nor suffer any of them to incorporate with them. Now here we have,
Neh 13:10-14
Here is another grievance redressed by Nehemiah.
Neh 13:15-22
Here is another instance of that blessed reformation in which Nehemiah was so active. He revived sabbath-sanctification, and maintained the authority of the fourth commandment; and a very good deed this was for the house of God and the offices thereof, for, where holy time is over-looked and made nothing of, it is not strange if all holy duties be neglected. Here is,
Neh 13:23-31
We have here one instance more of Nehemiah's pious zeal for the purifying of his countrymen as a peculiar people to God; that was the thing he aimed at in the use of his power, not the enriching of himself. See here,