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Nehemiah 13:26

in Nehemiah 13

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin.

KJV

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

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This verse in Nehemiah 13

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He was beloved of God, but his marrying strange wives threw him out of God's favour, and went near to extinguish the holy fire of grace in his soul: he was king over all Israel; but his doing this occasioned the loss of ten of his twelve tribes.

This site's exposition

pulled out their hair

on Nehemiah 13:25-27

Nehemiah's response is the sharpest in the book: "I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair." At Ezra 9:3 Ezra had pulled out his own hair in grief over the same sin. Nehemiah argues from history, "Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this?"

This site's exposition

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin

Solomon is the weightiest example: no king was like him, God loved him, and still foreign wives drew him into sin (1 Kings 11:1-8). Henry adds the cost, the loss of ten of the twelve tribes. The argument runs from the greatest to the least.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

It was the honour of Israel, and the greatest preservation of their holiness, that they were a peculiar people, and were so to keep themselves, and not to mingle with the nations, nor suffer any of them to incorporate with them.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Did not Solomon - Have you not had an awful example before you? What a heavy curse did Solomon’s conduct bring upon himself and upon the people, for a conduct such as yours?

The words behind it

27 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.

  • הֲל֣וֹא¿ not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • אֵ֣לֶּהthese

    ʾelehH428 →746 times

  • חָטָֽא־did he sin

    chata'-H2398 →238 times

  • שְׁלֹמֹ֣הSolomon

    shelomohH8010 →291 times

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֡לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • וּבַגּוֹיִ֣םand among the nations

    uvagoyimH1471 →561 times

  • הָרַבִּים֩<the> many

    harabimH7227 →454 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • הָיָ֨הhe was

    hayahH1961 →3559 times

  • מֶ֜לֶךְa king

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • כָּמֹ֗הוּlike him

    kamohuH3644 →143 times

  • וְאָה֤וּבand loved

    veahuvH157 →

  • לֵֽאלֹהָיו֙by God his

    lelohavH430 →2601 times

  • הָיָ֔הhe was

    hayahH1961 →3559 times

  • וַיִּתְּנֵ֣הוּand he made him

    vaiyitenehuH5414 →2011 times

  • אֱלֹהִ֔יםGod

    ʾelohimH430 →2601 times

  • מֶ֖לֶךְking

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • עַל־over

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • גַּם־also

    gam-H1571 →769 times

  • אוֹת֣וֹ<obj.> him

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • הֶחֱטִ֔יאוּthey caused to sin

    hechetiuH2398 →238 times

  • הַנָּשִׁ֖יםthe wives

    hanashimH802 →781 times

  • הַנָּכְרִיּֽוֹת׃<the> foreign

    hanakheriyotH5237 →

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.

Proverbs 31:3Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings.10 worksDeuteronomy 17:17He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.8 works1 Kings 11:1–8King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women.7 works1 Kings 3:13Moreover, I will give you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal.6 worksEcclesiastes 7:26And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.6 worksProverbs 22:14The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Chronicles 1:12therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”4 works2 Samuel 12:24–25Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child4 works2 Samuel 12:25and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.4 worksEcclesiastes 10:1As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.4 worksProverbs 7:26For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number.3 worksJeremiah 44:15Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,3 worksJob 31:9If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door,3 worksProverbs 5:9lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;3 works2 Chronicles 12:13Thus King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.3 works2 Chronicles 9:22So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.2 worksProverbs 6:33Wounds and dishonor will befall him, and his reproach will never be wiped away.2 worksJudges 16:4Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.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

    1 Kings 3:13

    Moreover, I will give you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal.

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 3:20

      Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Matthew 6:33

      But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Proverbs 3:16

      Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

    • Romans 8:32

      He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

    • 1 Kings 4:21–24

      And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of…

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 7:26

    And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is…

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 22:14

      The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 1:12

    therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”

    it leads to

    • James 1:5

      Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

    • 2 Chronicles 9:22

      So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies3

On this verse

On this chapter

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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Nehemiah 13 →