The priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
Parallel Translations
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The priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
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And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
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And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Nehemiah 12:30 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 19:10 Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments,
- 2 Chronicles 29:5 and said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify Yahweh, the God of your fathers’ house, and carry the filthiness out of the holy place.
- Ezra 6:21 The children of Israel who had returned out of the captivity, and all who had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, ate,
- Job 1:5 It was so, when the days of their feasting had run their course, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts.” Job did so continually.
- Genesis 35:2 Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, change your garments.
- Exodus 19:15 He said to the people, “Be ready by the third day. Don’t have sexual relations with a woman.”
- Numbers 19:2-20 “This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded. Tell the children of Israel to bring you a red heifer without spot, in which is no defect, and which was never yoked. You shall give her to Eleazar the priest, and he shall bring her outside of the camp, and one shall kill her before his face. Eleazar the priest shall take some of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle her blood toward the front of the Tent of Meeting seven times. One shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her meat, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn. The priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the middle of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the evening. He who burns her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the evening. “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside of the camp in a clean place; and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for use in water for cleansing impurity. It is a sin offering. He who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. It shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them, for a statute forever. “He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with water on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he doesn’t purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and doesn’t purify himself, defiles Yahweh’s tabernacle; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is yet on him. “This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. Every open vessel, which has no covering bound on it, is unclean. “Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. “For the unclean, they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin offering; and running water shall be poured on them in a vessel. A clean person shall take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave. The clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day. On the seventh day, he shall purify him. He shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at evening. But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of Yahweh. The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him. He is unclean.
- 2 Chronicles 29:34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings. Therefore their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
- Nehemiah 13:22 I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember to me, my God, this also, and spare me according to the greatness of your loving kindness.
- Nehemiah 13:30 Thus I cleansed them from all foreigners, and appointed duties for the priests and for the Levites, everyone in his work;
- Hebrews 5:1 For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
- Hebrews 5:3 Because of this, he must offer sacrifices for sins for the people, as well as for himself.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Neh 12:30 And the priests and the Levites purified…
Neh 12:30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
Ver. 30. Purified themselves, and purified the people] But first themselves; because whoso would reform others must begin with himself, as Lyra here notes.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Partly by sprinkling the water of purification upon them,…
Partly by sprinkling the water of purification upon them, by which the tabernacle and sacred utensils were purified, Num 8; and partly by solemn prayers and sacrifices.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the…
And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah. The other half of them, with Hoshaiah at the head of them.
And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah. The other half of them, with Hoshaiah at the head of them.
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Nehemiah 12:33
neh 12:33
neh 12:33
neh 12:33And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam. Not Ezra the priest and the scribe, for he has another place assigned him in this procession, Neh 12:36, but this seems to be one of the princes.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Purified themselves - They that would be instrumental to…
Purified themselves - They that would be instrumental to sanctify others, must sanctify themselves, and set themselves apart for God, with purity of mind and sincerity of intention.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 30. The priests and the Levites purified themselves]…
Verse 30. The priests and the Levites purified themselves] This consisted in washings, abstinence from wine, and other matters, which, on all other occasions, were lawful. And as to the purifying of the gates and the walls, nothing was requisite but to remove all filth from the former, and all rubbish that might have been laid against the latter.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Were purified first, that they might purify the rest.…
Were purified first, that they might purify the rest. (Haydock) --- Priests were obliged to abstain from wine, and from their wives, while they were on duty. See 2 Paralipomenon xxix. 34., and xxxv. 2., &c. Levites were to wash their garments, Leviticus viii. 21. All lepers, &c., required a certain purification, ibid. v. 2. 6.[Leviticus viii. 2, 6.?] and Numbers xix. 16. Care was taken that no dead body was found on the walls. These were probably sprinkled with water, &c., like the tabernacle, Leviticus viii. 11.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 30. Purified themselves… people… gates… wall — This was…
30. Purified themselves… people… gates… wall — This was probably done by the sprinkling of water, (Num_19:18,) and the offering of sacrifices. Compare 2Ch_29:21.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 30. purified themselves] Cf. Ezr_6:20. The description of the…
30. purified themselves] Cf. Ezr_6:20. The description of the sacrifices offered by Hezekiah on the occasion of a national purification should be compared, 2Ch_29:20-24.
the people … the gates … the walls] i.e. the people were purified in order that they might engage in the solemn dedication of their city walls without violation of the laws of purity. ‘The gates and walls’ were probably sprinkled, both as a sign of the dedication and to remove defilement from the path of the sacred procession.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (30) Purified themselves.—Before consecration to God there must be…
(30) Purified themselves.—Before consecration to God there must be purification from defilement. It is made emphatic that both priests and Levites purified themselves, that is, by offerings and ablutions (comp. 2Ch_29:15; Ezr_6:20): the gates and the wall by being sprinkled.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The priests and the Levites purified themselves. On this…
The priests and the Levites purified themselves. On this occasion there is no preference of the Levites over the priests, as in 2Ch_29:34 and Ezr_6:20. Both classes were, it would seem, equally zealous, and equally forward to purify themselves. And the gates and wall. Inanimate things might contract legal defilement. (Deu_23:14 Lev_14:34-53) In case either the wall or the gates should be in any such way unclean, they were made to undergo a legal purification before the ceremony of the dedication began.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and…
Neh_12:30
And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people.
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Beginning at the right place
I. A pure church may make a sound commonwealth. They purified themselves. Like priest, like people. Cleric and laie act and react on each other. Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. Elis sons. Uzzah may not sustain the ark.
II. To a pure people all things are pure. They purified the people and the gates and the wall. Citizens and city; sanctuary and house; Gods work and their own.
All things are sacred;
The eye of God is on them all,
And hallows all.
Jesus revealed God in the minutest. Peters vision. The present preparatory. I think our fathers had a better, grander, a diviner idea even of common life than we have when they spoke of the trades and professions of men as being their calling. There is a great thought in this word. It makes all the men, streets, shops, and warehouses to me as I walk along Divine objects. I feel that I am in a Divine place when I think of the men about me as following their calling. I feel that there is a God above men; that there is a God in human society; a God in the shops and counting-houses of London, touching and teaching every human being; and that every man is occupying the place, and putting his hand to the work to which God has called him. Sometimes you may see a man at a certain calling which is but preparatory. He is meant for something else. Providence opens the way, and he goes up higher and does another thing. God has given us a spiritual vocation--a Divine calling in Christ Jesus--and we are to walk worthy of that vocation here, doing all worldly things in a spiritual manner, preparatory to a higher calling which shall come one day, when we shall enter upon other forms of duty and service, to which the present inferior forms of duty and service faithfully fulfilled shall gradually prepare and fit us. (T. Binney.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:30 The dedication ceremony required that the priests and…
12:30 The dedication ceremony required that the priests and Levites be purified and ready to enter the Temple area (see Exod 19:10; Num 8:5-7).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.