Passage

Nehemiah 13.10-12

Book: Nehemiah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

8. And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meal-offerings and the frankincense.

10. And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. 11. Then contended I 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 brought all Judah the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries.

And I made treasurers over the treasuries, 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 counted faithful, and their business was to distribute unto their brethren. 14. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the observances thereof. (Nehemiah 13:8-14, ASV)

WEB

8. It grieved me severely. Therefore I threw all Tobiah’s household stuff out of the room. 9. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the rooms. I brought into them the vessels of God’s house, with the meal offerings and the frankincense again.

10. I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had each fled to his field. 11. Then I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is God’s house forsaken?” I gathered them together, and set them in their place. 12. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the treasuries.

I made treasurers over the treasuries, 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 counted faithful, and their business was to distribute to their brothers. 14. Remember me, my God, concerning this, and don’t wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its observances. (Nehemiah 13:8-14, WEB)

KJV

8. And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense.

10. And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. 11. Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. ^{place: Heb. standing} 12. Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries. ^{treasuries: or, storehouses}

And I made treasurers over the treasuries, 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 counted faithful, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren. ^{treasuries: or, storehouses} ^{next: Heb. at their hand} ^{their office: Heb. it was upon them} 14. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof. ^{good: Heb. kindnesses} ^{offices: or, observations} (Nehemiah 13:8-14, KJV)

YLT

8. and it is very displeasing to me, and I cast all the vessels of the house of Tobiah without, out of the chamber, 9. and I speak, and they cleanse the chambers, and I bring back thither the vessels of the house of God with the present and the frankincense.

10. And I know that the portions of the Levites have not been given, and they flee each to his field, the Levites and the singers, doing the work. 11. And I strive with the prefects, and say, 'Wherefore hath the house of God been forsaken?' and I gather them, and set them on their station; 12. and all Judah have brought in the tithe of the corn, and of the new wine, and of the oil, to the treasuries.

And I appoint treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites; and by their hand [is] Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for stedfast they have been reckoned, and on them [it is] to give a portion to their brethren. 14. Be mindful of me, O my God, for this, and do not blot out my kind acts that I have done, for the house of my God, and for its charges. (Nehemiah 13:8-14, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Nehemiah, narrating in the first person (Nehemiah 13:6-7)
Audience: the readers of his account; within the scene, "the rulers" he contends with (Nehemiah 13:11)
Location: Jerusalem, the house of God and its treasuries
Time period: after Nehemiah's return from the king, which followed "the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes" (Nehemiah 13:6), so some time after c. 433 BC

Theological reading

While Nehemiah was away, Eliashib the priest had cleared a great chamber of the temple, where "the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil" for the Levites were kept, and given it to Tobiah (Nehemiah 13:4-5). On his return Nehemiah finds the result: "the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field." The law gave the tithe to Levi in place of land: "I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service" (Numbers 18:21), "Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance" (Numbers 18:24). With no tithe the Levites had to farm, and the service of the house stopped.

Nehemiah's question, "Why is the house of God forsaken?", turns the people's own oath back on them. In the covenant they had sealed they promised to bring "the tithes of our ground unto the Levites" and closed with "we will not forsake the house of our God" (Nehemiah 10:37, 39). The KJV's "forsake" in 10:39 and "forsaken" in 13:11 are the same Hebrew verb (Strong's H5800). The neglect is measured against a promise, not an abstract ideal.

The remedy restores an order that already existed. Nehemiah gathers the Levites and "set them in their place" (KJV margin, "Heb. standing"), and "all Judah" brings the tithe "unto the treasuries" (KJV margin, "or, storehouses"). The same word (Strong's H214) stands in Malachi's charge, "Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house" (Malachi 3:10).

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

H3045 - yada, yada, Strong's H3045
H0430 - elohim, elohim, Strong's H0430
H6213 - asah, asah, Strong's H6213

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.