Nehemiah 13:29

Nehemiah 13:29

Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.

a. ASV: Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: Be mindful of them, O my God, for the redeemed of the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: O my God, [earnestly] remember them, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priests and Levites.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. The Writings: Daniel/Ezra/Nehemiah, Rabbinic Commentary:  Remember them, O my God, for their desecrations of the priesthood and of the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites!” [The Artscroll Series Copyright 2016 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

e. ESV: Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

1. “Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.”

a. Remember [them] [Strong: 2142 zâkar, zaw-kar'; a primitive root; also as denominative from H2145 properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by implication, to mention; to be male:—× burn (incense), × earnestly, be male, (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount, record(-er), remember, make to be remembered, bring (call, come, keep, put) to (in) remembrance, × still, think on, × well.]

b. [O my] God [Strong: 430 ʼĕlôhîym, el-o-heem'; plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:—angels, × exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), × (very) great, judges, × mighty.]

c. because [Strong: 5921 ʻal, al; properly, the same as H5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications:—above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, × as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, × both and, by (reason of), × had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-) on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, × with.]

d. [they have] defiled [Strong: 1352 gôʼel, go'-el; from H1351; profanation:—defile.

e. [the] priesthood [Strong: 3550 kᵉhunnâh, keh-hoon-naw'; from H3547; priesthood:—priesthood, priest's office.]

f. [and the] covenant [Strong: 1285 bᵉrîyth, ber-eeth'; from H1262 (in the sense of cutting [like H1254]); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh):—confederacy, (con-) feder(-ate), covenant, league.]

g. [of the] priesthood [Strong: 3550 kᵉhunnâh, keh-hoon-naw'; from H3547; priesthood:—priesthood, priest's office.]

h. [and of the] Levites [Strong: 3881 Lêvîyîy, lay-vee-ee'; or לֵוִי Lêvîy; patronymically from H3878; a Levite or descendant of Levi:—Leviite.]

1). Deuteronomy 7:1-4 When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

7:2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

7:3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

7:4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

2). The Writings: Daniel/Ezra/Nehemiah, Rabbinic Commentary: The interpretation of Metzudos is for despising the priesthood by marrying non-Jewish wives, and thus disqualifying them selves as Kohanim. Another interpretation is that the verse refers to God’s promise that the descendants of the Kohanim would also be priests.  [The Artscroll Series Copyright 2016 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

a). Numbers 25:10-13 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

25:11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

25:12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:

25:13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.