So I rebuked the officials and asked, “Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts,
Parallel translations
- WEB Then I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is God’s house forsaken?” I gathered them together, and set them in their place.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV So 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.
- NASB So I reprimanded the officials and said, “Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts.
- NLT I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties.
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
Nehemiah rebuked the rulers, asking why God's house was forsaken, then gathered the Levites and restored them to their posts. It matters because faithful leaders confront neglect and act to revive God's worship.
Overview
Nehemiah held the officials accountable for the temple's abandonment and reinstated the Levites in their duties. His direct confrontation and corrective action display leadership zealous for God's honor. The concern that God's house not be forsaken reflects the heart of Christ, who gathers and restores His people to worship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Neh 10:39For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”
- Neh 13:25I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!
- Neh 13:17Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day?
- Neh 5:6–13When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry,
- 1 Sam 2:17Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.
- Prov 28:4Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.
- Job 31:34because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—
- Mal 3:8–11Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
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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 13:11 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.