The Meaning of Nehemiah 13:29 Explained

Nehemiah 13:29

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

YLT: Be mindful of them, O my God, for the redeemed of the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.

Darby: Remember them, my God, for they are polluters of the priesthood, and of the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites!

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Nehemiah 13:29 Mean?

Context Summary

Nehemiah 13:15-31 - A Disobedient And Gainsaying People
Let us remember to keep perpetual Sabbath in the heart, whatever be our outward life. In this life there is a Sabbath rest for the people of God, Hebrews 4:9, but we must labor to enter into it, and must set God's angel of peace to keep the door against all intruders, Philippians 4:7. Twenty years before, Ezra had dismissed the strange wives, but the evil had risen again. Alas, how sadly do children expose the inconsistencies of their parents, and betray the evil of unequal marriages! We see plenty of this around us; and where there is such a union, the balance is almost certain to turn in favor of the world and against vital godliness, Deuteronomy 7:4; 2 Corinthians 6:14. Nehemiah did not hesitate to add strong acts to strong words. Josephus says that this expelled priest was Manasseh, and that he went to his father-in-law, Sanballat, who built for him a temple on Mount Gerizim like that at Jerusalem, and that this was the origin of the religious rivalry and hatred between Samaritans and Jews, John 4:20. The faithful servant and the dying thief join in the same petition, Nehemiah 13:31. To be remembered by Jesus Christ is enough reward for any of us [source]

Chapter Summary: Nehemiah 13

1  Upon the reading of the law, separation is made from the mixed multitude
4  Nehemiah, at his return, causes the chambers to be cleansed
10  He reforms the offices in the house of God;
15  the violation of the Sabbath;
23  and the marriages with the strange wives

What do the individual words in Nehemiah 13:29 mean?

Remember them my God because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites
זָכְרָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם אֱלֹהָ֑י עַ֚ל גָּאֳלֵ֣י הַכְּהֻנָּ֔ה וּבְרִ֥ית הַכְּהֻנָּ֖ה וְהַלְוִיִּֽם

זָכְרָ֥ה  Remember 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
אֱלֹהָ֑י  my  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
עַ֚ל  because 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
גָּאֳלֵ֣י  they  have  defiled 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: גֹּאַל  
Sense: defilement, defiling.
הַכְּהֻנָּ֔ה  the  priesthood 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: כְּהֻנָּה  
Sense: priesthood.
וּבְרִ֥ית  and  the  covenant 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בְּרִית  
Sense: covenant, alliance, pledge.
הַכְּהֻנָּ֖ה  of  the  priesthood 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: כְּהֻנָּה  
Sense: priesthood.
וְהַלְוִיִּֽם  and  the  Levites 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: לֵוִי  
Sense: the descendants of Levi, the 3rd son of Jacob by Leah.