Nehemiah 13:1-31 And that daye dyd they reade in the boke of Moses, & the people herkened therto, & there was found writen therin, that the Ammonites & Moabites shulde neuer come into the congregacion of God,

Great⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ And that daye dyd they reade in the boke of Moses, & the people herkened therto, & there was found writen therin, that the Ammonites & Moabites shulde neuer come into the congregacion of God, ² because they mett not the children of Israel wt bread and water, but hyred Balaam agaynst them, that he shuld curse them: and oure God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ Now when they herde the lawe, it fortuned, that they separated from Israell euery one that had myxte hym selfe therin ⁴ And before this had the preast Eliasib the ouer syght of the treasury of the house of oure God, & he was kynsman vnto Tobia: ⁵ & had made him a great chambre, & there had they afore tyme layed the offeringes, frankencense, vessell, & the tythes of corne, and wyne and oyle (accordyng to the commaundement geuen to the Leuites, syngers and porters) and the heueofferynges of the preastes: ⁶ But in all this tyme was not I at Ierusalem: for in the two & thyrtie yeare of Artaxerses kyng of Babylon, came I vnto the kyng, and after certayne dayes optayned I lycence of the kyng ⁷ to come to Ierusalem. And I gat knowlege of the euell that Eliasib dyd vnto Tobia, in that he had made him a chambre in the court of the house of God, ⁸ and it greued me sore, & I cast forth all the vessels of the house of Tobia out of the chambre, ⁹ and commaunded them to clense the chambres. And thither brought I agayne the vessels of the house of God, with the meatoffering, and the incense. ¹⁰ And I perceaued, that the porcions of the Leuites were not geuen them, and that euery one fled to his land, euen the Leuites and syngers that executed the worke. ¹¹ Then reproued I the rulers, & sayd? why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, & set them in their place. ¹² Then brought all Iuda the tythes of corne, & wyne and oyle vnto the treasure. ¹³ And I made treasurers ouer the treasure, euen Selemiah the preast, & Zadoc the scrybe, and of the Leuites, Phadaia, & vnder their hand was Hanan the sonne of Zacur the sonne of Mathania: for they were counted faythfull, and their office was to distribute the porcions vnto their brethren. ¹⁴ Thyncke vpon me O my God here in, and wipe not out my mercy that I haue shewed on the house of my God, and on the offices therof. ¹⁵ At the same tyme sawe I some tredynge wyne presses on the Saboth, & bryngyng in shefes, & asses laden wt wyne, grapes, figges & brynging all maner of burthens vnto Ierusalem, vpon the Sabaoth daye. And I rebuked them earnestly the same daye that they sold the vitayles. ¹⁶ There dwelt men of Tyre also therin, which brought fysh and all maner of ware, & solde on the Saboth vnto the children of Iuda in Ierusalem. ¹⁷ Then reproued I the rulers in Iuda, & sayde vnto them: what euell thyng is this that ye do, & breake the Saboth daye? ¹⁸ Dyd not youre fathers euen thus, & our God brought all thys plage vpon vs & vpon this cytie? And ye make the wrath more yet vpon Israel, in that ye breake the Saboth. ¹⁹ And it fortuned, that when the portes of Ierusalem beganne to be darke in the euenyng before the Saboth, I commaunded to shutt the gates, and charged, that they shuld not be opened tyll after the Saboth & some of my seruauntes set I at the gates, that there shulde no burthen be brought in on the Saboth daye. ²⁰ Then remayned the chapmen & marchauntes once or twyce ouer nyght without Ierusalem wyth all maner of wares. ²¹ Then reproued I them sore, and sayde vnto them: why tary ye all nyght about the wall? If ye do it once agayne, I wyll laye handes vpon you. From that tyme forth came they nomore on the Saboth. ²² And I sayde vnto the Leuites that they shulde clense them selues, and that they shulde come and kepe the gates, to halowe the Saboth daye. Thynke vpon me (O my God) concernyng this also, & spare me, accordyng to thy great mercy. ²³ And at the same tyme sawe I Iewes, that maried wyues of Asdod, of Ammon and of Moab, ²⁴ & their childen spake halfe in the speach of Asdod, & coulde not speake in the Iewes language, but by the tong myght a man perceaue euery people. ²⁵ Then I reproued them, & cursed them, & smote certayne men of them, & made them bare, and toke an ooth of them by God: Ye shal not geue your daughters vnto their sonnes, nether shall ye take their daughters vnto youre sonnes, or for youre selues. ²⁶ Dyd not Salomon the kyng of Israel synne for soch? and yet among many Heythen was there no kynge lyke him, whych was deare vnto his God, & God made him kynge ouer all Israel, & yet neuertheles, outlandysh wemen caused him to synne? ²⁷ Shall we then obeye vnto you, to do all this great euell, & to transgresse agaynst oure God, and marye straunge wyues? ²⁸ And one of the children of Iehoiada the sonne of Eliasib the hye preast, had made a contracte with Sanabalat the Horonite: but I chaced him from me. ²⁹ (O my God) thynke thou vpon them that defyle the presthode, & the couenaunt of the presthode & of the Leuites. ³⁰ Thus clensed I them from all soch as were outlandish, and appoynted the courses of the preastes & Leuites, euery one in his office, ³¹ & to offre the wod at tymes appoynted, and the fyrst frutes. Thinke thou vpon me (O my God) for the best.