For there was a command from the king concerning the singers, an ordinance regulating their daily activities.
Parallel translations
- WEB For there was a commandment from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as every day required.
- KJV For it was the king’s commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day.
- NKJV For it was the king’s command concerning them that a certain portion should be for the singers, a quota day by day.
- NASB For there was a commandment from the king concerning them and a royal command for the singers day by day.
- NLT Their daily responsibilities were carried out according to the terms of a royal command.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A royal command provided a daily allowance for the singers. The Persian king supported the worship of God in Jerusalem.
Overview
The 'king' here likely refers to the Persian ruler, whose decree secured regular provision for the temple singers (compare Ezra 6:8-10; 7:20-24). That a pagan monarch funded Israel's worship displays God's sovereignty over the nations to provide for his people. He moves even foreign rulers to accomplish his purposes for his church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ezra 6:8–9I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered.
- Ezra 7:20–24And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury.
- 1 Chr 9:33Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night.
- Neh 12:47So in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions for the descendants of Aaron.
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 11:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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