Nehemiah 13:27
in Nehemiah 13Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God in marrying foreign women?
KJV
Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?
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This verse in Nehemiah 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseShall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil,.... To suffer it to be done, and connive at it, and not punish for it: to transgress against our God; his law, his mind, and will: in marrying strange wives? forbidden by him, Deu 7:1.
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
acting unfaithfully against our God
Gill reads the question as Nehemiah refusing to let this evil go on by his silence. Ezra 10:2 uses the same word for marrying foreign women. A governor who heard of it and did nothing would share in it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
You beg that they may not be divorced from you, but we cannot hearken to you, for there is no other remedy to clear us from the guilt and prevent infection." (1.) He quotes a precept, to prove that it was in itself a great sin; and makes them swear to that precept: You shall not give your daughters unto their sons, &c., which is taken from Deut. vii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
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
Shall we then hearken unto you - If God spared not Solomon, who was so much beloved of Him, shall we spare you, who by your conduct are bringing down God’s judgments upon Israel?
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלָכֶ֣ם | velakhem | and to you | ||
| הֲנִשְׁמַ֗ע | hanishma' | ¿ is it heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| לַעֲשֹׂת֙ | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרָעָ֤ה | haraah | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ | hagedolah | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| הַזֹּ֔את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לִמְעֹ֖ל | limol | to act unfaithfully | H4603 → | |
| בֵּֽאלֹהֵ֑ינוּ | beloheinu | against God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְהֹשִׁ֖יב | lehoshiv | by marrying | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| נָשִׁ֥ים | nashim | wives | H802 → | 781 times |
| נָכְרִיּֽוֹת׃ | nakheriyot | foreign | H5237 → |
וְלָכֶ֣םand to you
velakhem
הֲנִשְׁמַ֗ע¿ is it heard
hanishma'H8085 →1159 times
לַעֲשֹׂת֙to do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרָעָ֤הthe evil
haraahH7451 →662 times
הַגְּדוֹלָה֙<the> great
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
הַזֹּ֔את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
לִמְעֹ֖לto act unfaithfully
limolH4603 →
בֵּֽאלֹהֵ֑ינוּagainst God our
beloheinuH430 →2601 times
לְהֹשִׁ֖יבby marrying
lehoshivH3427 →1079 times
נָשִׁ֥יםwives
nashimH802 →781 times
נָכְרִיּֽוֹת׃foreign
nakheriyotH5237 →
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
1 Samuel 30:24Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.”
it leads to
- Numbers 31:27
Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of the congregation.
- Joshua 22:8
saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies.”
- Psalms 68:12
“Kings and their armies flee in haste; she who waits at home divides the plunder.
- Numbers 31:27
Through
Ezra 10:2Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is…
it leads to
- Ezra 9:2
Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and…
- Exodus 34:12
Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst.
- Jeremiah 3:12–13
Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be…
- Nehemiah 3:29
Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house, and next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate, made repairs.
- Exodus 34:6–7
Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
- Ezra 9:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Nehemiah
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.