Principles of Separation^(A)

13 On that day ^(B)they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written ^(C)that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God, ² because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but ^(D)hired Balaam against them to curse them. ^(E)However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ So it was, when they had heard the Law, ^(F)that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.

The Reforms of Nehemiah

⁴ Now before this, ^(G)Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with ^(H)Tobiah. ⁵ And he had prepared for him a large room, ^(I)where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, ^(J)which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. ⁶ But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, ^(K)for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king, ⁷ and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in ^(L)preparing a room for him in the courts of the ^[a]house of God. ⁸ And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. ⁹ Then I commanded them to ^(M)cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

¹⁰ I also realized that the portions for the Levites had ^(N)not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to ^(O)his field. ¹¹ So ^(P)I contended with the rulers, and said, ^(Q)“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. ^12 (R)Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. ^13 (S)And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered ^(T)faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.

^14 (U)Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!

¹⁵ In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses ^(V)on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, ^(W)which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. ¹⁶ Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

¹⁷ Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? ^18 (X)Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

¹⁹ So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it ^(Y)began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. ^(Z)Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. ²⁰ Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of ^[b]wares ^[c]lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.

²¹ Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night ^[d]around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath. ²² And I commanded the Levites that ^(AA)they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.

Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!

²³ In those days I also saw Jews who ^(AB)had married women of ^(AC)Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴ And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.

²⁵ So I ^(AD)contended with them and ^[e]cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them ^(AE)swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. ^26 (AF)Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, ^(AG)who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. ^(AH)Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. ²⁷ Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, ^(AI)transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?”

²⁸ And one of the sons ^(AJ)of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of ^(AK)Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.

^29 (AL)Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and ^(AM)the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

^30 (AN)Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also ^(AO)assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service, ³¹ and to bringing ^(AP)the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times.

^(AQ)Remember me, O my God, for good!

The King Dethrones Queen Vashti

1 Now it came to pass in the days of ^(A)Ahasuerus^[a] (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned ^(B)over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, ^(C)from India to Ethiopia), ² in those days when King Ahasuerus ^(D)sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in ^(E)Shushan^[b] the ^[c]citadel, ³ that in the third year of his reign he ^(F)made a feast for all his officials and servants—the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him— ⁴ when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days in all.

⁵ And when these days were completed, the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in ^[d]Shushan the ^[e]citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. ⁶ There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the ^(G)couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble. ⁷ And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, ^(H)according to the ^[f]generosity of the king. ⁸ In accordance with the law, the drinking was not compulsory; for so the king had ordered all the officers of his household, that they should do according to each man’s pleasure.

⁹ Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, ^(I)Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, ¹¹ to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. ¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.

¹³ Then the king said to the ^(J)wise men ^(K)who understood the times (for this was the king’s manner toward all who knew law and justice, ¹⁴ those closest to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the ^(L)seven princes of Persia and Media, ^(M)who had access to the king’s presence, and who ^[g]ranked highest in the kingdom): ¹⁵ “What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs?”

¹⁶ And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷ For the queen’s behavior will become known to all women, so that they will ^(N)despise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’ ¹⁸ This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath. ¹⁹ If it pleases the king, let a royal ^[h]decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will ^(O)not ^[i]be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. ²⁰ When the king’s decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire (for it is great), all wives will ^(P)honor their husbands, both great and small.”

²¹ And the reply pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. ²² Then he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, ^(Q)to each province in its own script, and to every people in their own language, that each man should ^(R)be master in his own house, and speak in the language of his own people.