Thus I purified the priests and Levites from everything foreign, and I assigned specific duties to each of the priests and Levites.
Parallel translations
- WEB Thus I cleansed them from all foreigners, and appointed duties for the priests and for the Levites, everyone in his work;
- KJV Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business;
- NKJV Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service,
- NASB So I purified them from everything foreign, and assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each in his work,
- NLT So I purged out everything foreign and assigned tasks to the priests and Levites, making certain that each knew his work.
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 cleansed the people from everything foreign and assigned the priests and Levites their proper duties. It matters because reform restored both the purity of the community and the right order of worship.
Overview
Having confronted compromise, Nehemiah purified the people and reestablished each minister in his appointed work. Cleansing and ordering went together, removing defilement and renewing faithful service. This twofold work of purifying and rightly ordering God's people reflects the gospel aim of a holy people fitted for the worship of God in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Neh 10:30We will not give our daughters in marriage to the people of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons.
- Neh 12:1–26Now these are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
- 1 Chr 23:1–26When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.
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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 13:30 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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