Nehemiah 13:2
in Nehemiah 13because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, to curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
KJV
Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
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This verse in Nehemiah 13
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God
on Nehemiah 13:1-3
The public reading turns up the law "that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God," the ban of Deuteronomy 23. The people "excluded from Israel all of foreign descent," a reading Keil dates after Nehemiah's return.
This site's exposition
had hired Balaam to call down a curse
The reason comes from Deuteronomy 23:4-5, which recalls Balaam hired to curse Israel (Numbers 22 to 24). Each curse came out as a blessing. Henry reads the law as a bar on Ammonites and Moabites settling among Israel or joining with them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
10 ) and the opposition he had given to his undertakings, ch. iv. How basely Eliashib the chief priest took this Tobiah in to be a lodger even in the courts of the temple. (1.) He was allied to Tobiah (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number
Because they met not the children of Israel with bread,.... The same reason is given, and what follows in this verse is observed in Deu 23:4; See Gill on Deu 23:4, Deu 23:5.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֧א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| קִדְּמ֛וּ | kidemu | they had met | H6923 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בַּלֶּ֣חֶם | balechem | with <the> food | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וּבַמָּ֑יִם | uvamayim | and with <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וַיִּשְׂכֹּ֨ר | vaiyiskor | and he had hired | H7936 → | 21 times |
| עָלָ֤יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּלְעָם֙ | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | |
| לְקַֽלְל֔וֹ | lekalo | to curse it | H7043 → | |
| וַיַּהֲפֹ֧ךְ | vaiyahafokh | and he turned | H2015 → | |
| אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַקְּלָלָ֖ה | hakelalah | the curse | H7045 → | |
| לִבְרָכָֽה׃ | livrakhah | into blessing | H1293 → |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֧אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
קִדְּמ֛וּthey had met
kidemuH6923 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בַּלֶּ֣חֶםwith <the> food
balechemH3899 →298 times
וּבַמָּ֑יִםand with <the> water
uvamayimH4325 →581 times
וַיִּשְׂכֹּ֨רand he had hired
vaiyiskorH7936 →21 times
עָלָ֤יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בִּלְעָם֙Balaam
bilamH1109 →
לְקַֽלְל֔וֹto curse it
lekaloH7043 →
וַיַּהֲפֹ֧ךְand he turned
vaiyahafokhH2015 →
אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּGod our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
הַקְּלָלָ֖הthe curse
hakelalahH7045 →
לִבְרָכָֽה׃into blessing
livrakhahH1293 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Deuteronomy 23:5Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:7–8
The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Ephesians 2:4–5
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Numbers 24:9
He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:17
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- Deuteronomy 7:7–8
Through
Micah 6:5My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
it leads to
- Joshua 5:9–10
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
- Numbers 25:1
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- Judges 5:11
the voices of the singers at the watering places. There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went…
- Joshua 5:9–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Nehemiah
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.