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KING JAMES BIBLE · PCE

Nehemiah 13:18–21

TEXT EDITION
Pure Cambridge Edition selected
Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.
And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.
Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.
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PASSAGE SELECTION

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SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE

Cross References

All 21 ranked passages are available for comparison.

From verse 18

  1. Jeremiah 17:21–23Rank 1 from verse 18
    Open

    21Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

    22Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

    23But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

  2. Ezekiel 23:26Rank 2 from verse 18
    Open

    26They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.

  3. Ezekiel 23:8Rank 3 from verse 18
    Open

    8Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

  4. Ezra 9:13–15Rank 4 from verse 18
    Open

    13And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

    14Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

    15O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

  5. Jeremiah 17:27Rank 5 from verse 18
    Open

    27But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

  6. Jeremiah 44:9Rank 6 from verse 18
    Open

    9Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

  7. Joshua 22:17–18Rank 7 from verse 18
    Open

    17Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord,

    18But that ye must turn away this day from following the Lord? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the Lord, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.

  8. Leviticus 26:18Rank 8 from verse 18
    Open

    18And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

  9. Leviticus 26:28Rank 9 from verse 18
    Open

    28Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

  10. Numbers 32:14Rank 10 from verse 18
    Open

    14And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel.

  11. Zechariah 1:4–6Rank 11 from verse 18
    Open

    4Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord.

    5Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

    6But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

  12. Jeremiah 44:22Rank 12 from verse 18
    Open

    22So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

From verse 19

  1. Leviticus 23:32Rank 1 from verse 19
    Open

    32It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

  2. Exodus 31:14–17Rank 2 from verse 19
    Open

    14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

    15Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

    16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

    17It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

  3. Jeremiah 17:19–22Rank 3 from verse 19
    Open

    19¶ Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

    20And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

    21Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

    22Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

  4. Leviticus 23:22Rank 4 from verse 19
    Open

    22¶ And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

  5. Nehemiah 7:3Rank 5 from verse 19
    Open

    3And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.

From verse 21

  1. Romans 13:3–4Rank 1 from verse 21
    Open

    3For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

    4For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

  2. 1 Peter 2:14Rank 2 from verse 21
    Open

    14Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

  3. Ezra 7:26Rank 3 from verse 21
    Open

    26And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

  4. Nehemiah 13:15Rank 4 from verse 21
    Open

    15¶ 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.

WORDS IN THIS PASSAGE

Definitions

Open a word for its full definition and concordance.

DEFINED WORDS

Nehemiah 13:18

COMBINED MEANING

your

↗

The possessive form of ye or you, ordinarily plural, marking what belongs to, concerns, proceeds from, or stands in relation to the persons addressed.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

evil

↗

Sense 1: Moral wickedness, sin, wrong, or corruption. Sense 2: Harm, misery, calamity, adversity, or punishment.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

upon

↗

1. Marks the person, place, thing, or basis to which something is related: on or onto; above or over; toward or against as the target of action, speech, thought, attention, or force; resting on, assigned to, or affecting as a state, gift, burden, duty, guilt, or judgment; supported by or based on; or one placed, added, or repeated on or after another. 2. With a stated time or occasion, or a preceding event, at that time or point, or at or after that event: on, at, when, then, or following it.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

us

↗

The first-person plural object pronoun, referring to the speaker together with one or more others as recipients or objects of an action or relation.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

yet

↗

1. Up to or at the present or stated time; still. 2. At some future time. 3. Nevertheless; however. 4. In addition; further.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

ye

↗

The second-person plural subject pronoun, referring to the persons being addressed as those who are, do, or receive the stated predicate.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

wrath

↗

Fierce anger, indignation, displeasure, rage, or the punitive judgment and destructive action that proceed from it.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

Israel

↗

The name given to Jacob and, by extension, his descendants, their nation, or the people so called.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

profaning

↗

Present-participial or verbal-noun form of profane, meaning to profane is to dishonour, desecrate, defile, or treat as common.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

sabbath

↗

An appointed holy rest or cessation from ordinary labour; especially the seventh-day rest, or a sabbatical rest for the land.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references

DEFINED WORDS

Nehemiah 13:19

COMBINED MEANING

pass

↗

To go by, through, over, or beyond; to happen, cease, or be transferred.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

gates

↗

Movable barriers and the entrances they close in walls, cities, courts, houses, or enclosed places; by extension, the city, jurisdiction, public place, or access represented by those entrances.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

began

↗

Past-tense or past-participial form of begin (to have an original or first existence; to take rise; to commence).

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

dark

↗

Sense 1: Without light or having little light. Sense 2: Obscure, hidden, or not understood. Sense 3: Darkness or a place or time without light.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

before

↗

Earlier than in time; in front of; in the presence of; or prior in order or rank.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

sabbath

↗

An appointed holy rest or cessation from ordinary labour; especially the seventh-day rest, or a sabbatical rest for the land.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

should

↗

A verb expressing duty, propriety, expectation, intention, purpose, condition, appointed outcome, or a future event viewed from another time or statement.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

shut

↗

To close, fasten, block, confine, stop, exclude, or make inaccessible.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

charged

↗

Past-tense, past-participial, or adjectival form of charge. Sense 1: Commanded, enjoined, or solemnly required. Sense 2: Imputed, accused, or charged with a fault. Sense 3: Burdened with a payment, obligation, or liability. Sense 4: Entrusted or made responsible for a person, duty, or burden.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

opened

↗

Past-tense, participial, or adjectival form of open, meaning to uncover, reveal, or explain.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

till

↗

Sense 1: To cultivate, plough, dress, and work soil for crops. Sense 2: As a time or limit word, until, up to, or as far as the stated point, condition, or event.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

after

↗

1. Later than or following in time or order. 2. Behind. 3. In pursuit of.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

set

↗

1. To put or place a person or thing in a position, relation, or condition; when passive, to be so placed, fixed, or adorned. 2. To establish, fix, appoint, assign, prescribe, or determine. 3. To arrange, prepare, present, display, or put in order or array. 4. To direct, turn, or firmly apply the face, heart, eyes, mind, affection, or action toward something. 5. To start, advance, send out, proceed on a course or work, or make an attack, as in set forward, set forth, or set upon where those meanings apply. 6. To value or esteem; or, in set at nought or set light by, to despise. 7. Of the sun, to go down.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

burden

↗

Sense 1: A load carried; a weight, hardship, duty, or responsibility; also a solemn message laid upon a speaker. Sense 2: To weigh down or oppress.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

in

↗

1. A preposition marking position, presence, state, circumstance, manner, means, sphere, reference, relation, association, or participation. 2. As an adverb, inward, inside, or into the place or position referred to.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

on

↗

1. At, upon, or in contact with the named place, object, side, or time. 2. Toward, against, concerning, depending upon, or directed to the named person or thing. 3. Forward or continuing; in joined expressions such as go on, put on, and lay hold on, the other words supply the particular action.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

day

↗

Sense 1: Light or the period of light between morning and evening, as distinguished from night. Sense 2: A complete daily cycle. Sense 3: A specified time, occasion, period, age, or season.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

DEFINED WORDS

Nehemiah 13:20

COMBINED MEANING

merchants

↗

Persons who buy, sell, exchange, transport, or trade goods and wares, often for gain and sometimes across lands or seas.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

kind

↗

Sense 1: A class, sort, nature, or group sharing common characteristics. Sense 2: Benevolent, gracious, helpful, or gentle.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

ware

↗

1. Goods or merchandise. 2. Wore, the past tense of wear. 3. Aware, watchful, or cautious, as in ‘were ware’ or ‘be ware.’

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

lodged

↗

Past-tense, participial, or adjectival form of lodge. Sense 1: To stay, dwell, or pass the night in a place. Sense 2: To settle or remain, including creatures or thoughts.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

without

↗

Outside or on the exterior; beyond a boundary; lacking, absent, free from, not accompanied by, or apart from the person, thing, condition, means, or relation named.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

once

↗

Sense 1: One time or a single occurrence. Sense 2: At once: at the same instant or together. Sense 3: Formerly; at an earlier time. Sense 4: When once: when the stated point has been reached.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Skeat 1893

COMBINED MEANING

twice

↗

Two times, on two occasions, in two repeated instances, or in double measure.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

DEFINED WORDS

Nehemiah 13:21

COMBINED MEANING

testified

↗

Past-tense, participial, or adjectival form of testify, meaning to bear witness, declare solemnly, or give evidence of something known.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

against

↗

Opposed to, contrary to, facing, toward, or in contact with; in some settings, exposed to or ready for a stated time.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Skeat 1893

COMBINED MEANING

lodge

↗

1. To stay, dwell, or pass the night in a place. 2. To settle or remain, including creatures or thoughts. 3. A temporary shelter.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

ye

↗

The second-person plural subject pronoun, referring to the persons being addressed as those who are, do, or receive the stated predicate.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

about

↗

1. Around or near in place, position, or movement; on every side, in a circuit, from place to place, or turned from one direction or state toward another. 2. Approximately in number, measure, distance, or time. 3. Concerning, occupied with, or engaged in a matter. 4. On the point of, intending, or attempting an action.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

wall

↗

Sense 1: A structure raised to enclose, divide, or defend a place. Sense 2: Figuratively, a defense or protection.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

again

↗

Another time; once more; back to a former place or condition; or in return.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

lay

↗

Sense 1: To put, place, set, arrange, deposit, apply, establish, impose, or cause to be in a stated position or condition. Sense 2: As the past tense of lie, to recline, rest, be situated, or remain in a state. Sense 3: In lay with, to have sexual relations. Sense 4: To press or bear upon. Sense 5: In lay up, lay by, or lay in store, to keep, store, or treasure; in lay wait, lay snares, lay an ambush, or lay siege, to prepare or set. Sense 6: In lay hold or lay hands on, to seize, take, apprehend, or touch. Sense 7: In lay down one's life, to surrender or give it; in lay aside, lay apart, or lay away, to remove, reject, or put off.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

hands

↗

Sense 1: The end parts of the arms used for holding and working. Sense 2: Figures of power, possession, agency, or aid.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

on

↗

1. At, upon, or in contact with the named place, object, side, or time. 2. Toward, against, concerning, depending upon, or directed to the named person or thing. 3. Forward or continuing; in joined expressions such as go on, put on, and lay hold on, the other words supply the particular action.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

you

↗

The second-person plural pronoun referring to those being addressed.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

time

↗

A particular portion or part of duration, whether past, present or future.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

forth

↗

1. Outward, away, or forward from a place, person, possession, or former position. 2. In constructions of bearing or producing, into birth, growth, fruit, or another stated result. 3. With verbs such as put, stretch, spread, or reach, outward by extension or exertion. 4. In constructions of showing, speaking, issuing, or displaying, into view, expression, publication, or effect. 5. Onward from a stated time or point, as in from that time forth.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

sabbath

↗

An appointed holy rest or cessation from ordinary labour; especially the seventh-day rest, or a sabbatical rest for the land.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references

READ THE PASSAGE

View in context

Suggested context · Nehemiah 13:15–22

The selected passage is highlighted. Context is a study aid.

13:15¶ 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.

13:16There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

13:17Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?

13:18Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.

Selected passage

13:19And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.

Selected passage

13:20So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.

Selected passage

13:21Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.

Selected passage

13:22And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.

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