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Nehemiah 13:15

in Nehemiah 13

In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

In those days saw I in Judah some men treading winepresses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses therewith; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.

KJV

In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.

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This verse in Nehemiah 13

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
The desecration of the Sabbath is first brought into prominence among the sins of the Jewish people by Jeremiah Jer 17:21-27. It could not but have gained ground during the captivity, when foreign masters would not have allowed the cessation of labor for one day in seven. On the return from the captivity, the sabbatical rest appears to have been one of the institutions most difficult to re-establish. In the day - Some render, “concerning the day.”

This site's exposition

treading winepresses on the Sabbath

on Nehemiah 13:15-16

Nehemiah's next target is Sabbath trade: "people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath." In the city, "men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise," selling on the Sabbath inside the walls. The trade stands in Jerusalem itself, the city of God's house.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah · Written before 735.

proposed

In those days I saw in Judah men treading wine presses on the Sabbath, etc. By law, we are commanded to work for six days on necessary things, and on the seventh, we are to rest; the general mystery of this command is clear, that …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), through there was an express command that in earing-time, and in harvest-time, they should rest on the sabbaths ( Exod. xxxiv. 21 ), because then they might be tempted to take a greater liberty, and to fancy that God would indulge them in it.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

In those days saw I in Judah some treading winepresses on the sabbath,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Nehemiah took the decisive step of ordering the city gates to be shut, and not to be opened, till the Sabbath was past; and in order to ensure the faithful execution of this order, he stationed some of his own servants as guards, to prevent the introduction of any commodities on that day.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Treading wine-presses - The Sabbath appears to have been totally disregarded.

The words behind it

26 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • בַּיָּמִ֣יםin the days

    baiyamimH3117 →2304 times

  • הָהֵ֡מָּה<the> those

    hahemahH1992 →553 times

  • רָאִ֣יתִיI saw

    raitiH7200 →1300 times

  • בִֽיהוּדָ֣ה׀in Judah

    vihudahH3063 →819 times

  • דֹּֽרְכִֽים־[some who] trod

    dorekhim-H1869 →

  • גִּתּ֣וֹת׀winepresses

    gitotH1660 →

  • בַּשַּׁבָּ֡תon the sabbath

    bashabatH7676 →110 times

  • וּמְבִיאִ֣יםand [some who] brought

    umeviimH935 →2568 times

  • הָעֲרֵמ֣וֹת<the> heaps of grain

    haaremotH6194 →

  • וְֽעֹמְסִ֪יםand [some who] loaded [them]

    veomesimH6006 →

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַחֲמֹרִ֟ים<the> donkeys

    hachamorimH2543 →

  • וְאַף־and also

    veaf-H637 →134 times

  • יַ֜יִןwine

    yayinH3196 →141 times

  • עֲנָבִ֤יםgrapes

    ʾanavimH6025 →

  • וּתְאֵנִים֙and figs

    uteenimH8384 →

  • וְכָל־and every

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • מַשָּׂ֔אload

    masa'H4853 →

  • וּמְבִיאִ֥יםand [some who] brought [them]

    umeviimH935 →2568 times

  • יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →643 times

  • בְּי֣וֹםon [the] day of

    beyomH3117 →2304 times

  • הַשַּׁבָּ֑תthe sabbath

    hashabatH7676 →110 times

  • וָאָעִ֕ידand I protested

    vaaidH5749 →44 times

  • בְּי֖וֹםon [the] day

    beyomH3117 →2304 times

  • מִכְרָ֥םsold they

    mikhramH4376 →80 times

  • צָֽיִד׃food

    tzayidH6718 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Nehemiah 10:31When the people of the land bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on a Sabbath or holy day. Every seventh year we will let the fields lie fallow, and will cancel every debt.7 worksExodus 34:21Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.5 worksNehemiah 13:21but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they did not return on the Sabbath.5 worksIsaiah 58:13If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,4 worksJeremiah 17:21–22This is what the LORD says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.4 worksExodus 20:8–11Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 20:13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.3 worksJeremiah 17:27But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in its gates to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.’”3 worksJeremiah 17:24If, however, you listen carefully to Me, says the LORD, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and keep the Sabbath day holy, and do no work on it,3 worksExodus 35:2For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.3 worksDeuteronomy 8:19If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.3 worksDeuteronomy 5:12–14Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.3 worksNumbers 15:32–36While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.3 worksProverbs 28:4Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.3 worksRevelation 22:18–19I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.2 worksNehemiah 9:29You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly shrugged their shoulders; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.2 worksEphesians 4:17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.2 worksIsaiah 5:2He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Isaiah 58:13

    If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor…

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 13:15–22

      In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Jeremiah 17:21–27

      This is what the LORD says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

    • Psalms 92:1–2

      It is good to praise the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,

    • Isaiah 56:2–6

      Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

    • Revelation 1:10

      On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

  • Through

    Nehemiah 10:31

    When the people of the land bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on a Sabbath or holy day. Every seventh year…

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 23:3

      For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a…

    • Exodus 23:10–11

      For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce,

  • Through

    Exodus 34:21

    Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 23:12

      For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

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About Nehemiah

Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah: the study guide →Read Nehemiah 13 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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