Nehemiah 13:2

Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
met	קִדְּמ֛וּ ki.de.Mu	H6923	to project (one self) · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person common plural
children	בְּנֵ֥י be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
bread	בַּלֶּ֣חֶם ba.Le.chem	H3899	food (for man or beast) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
water	וּבַמָּ֑יִם u.va.Ma.yim	H4325	water · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
hired	וַיִּשְׂכֹּ֨ר vai.yis.Kor	H7936	to hire · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Balaam	בִּלְעָם֙ bil.'Am	H1109	Bilam · proper noun, a man's name
curse	לְקַֽלְל֔וֹ le.ka.Lo	H7043	to be (causatively · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
God	אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּ 'e.lo.Hei.nu	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
turned	וַיַּהֲפֹ֧ךְ vai.ya.ha.Fokh	H2015	to turn about or over · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
curse	הַקְּלָלָ֖ה ha.ke.la.Lah	H7045	vilification · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
blessing	לִבְרָכָֽה liv.ra.Khah	H1293	benediction · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 23:5 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LO…
Joshua 24:9-10 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
Psalms 109:28 Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
Micah 6:5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye…
Numbers 23:8-11 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,…
Numbers 24:5-10 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
Numbers 22:3-11 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 13:1-9

It was the honour of Israel, and the greatest preservation of their holiness, that they were a peculiar people, and were so to keep themselves, and not to mingle with the nations, nor suffer any of them to incorporate with them. Now here we have, I. The law to this purport, which happened to be read on that day, in the audience of the people (Neh 13:1), on the day of the dedication of the wall, as it should seem, for with their prayers and praises they joined the reading of the word; and though it was long after that the other grievances, here mentioned, were redressed by Nehemiah's power, yet this of the mixed multitude might be redressed then by the people's own act, for so it seems to be,…

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Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 13:1

On that day - I am quite of Calmet's mind that the transaction detailed in this chapter did not immediately succeed the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. It is most likely that, when this dedication was ended, Nehemiah returned to Babylon, as himself particularly marks, Neh 13:6, for he did return in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes; and then, after certain days, supposed to be about the term of one year, he got leave to return to Jerusalem to see how matters were conducted: and there he found the evils which he mentions in this chapter, and which he redressed in the manner himself describes. See the introduction to this book. Should not come into the congregation - That is, Ye shall…

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John Gill on Nehemiah 13:2

Because they met not the children of Israel with bread,.... The same reason is given, and what follows in this verse is observed in Deuteronomy 23:4; See Gill on Deuteronomy 23:4, Deuteronomy 23:5.

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Nehemiah 13:1-3

On the same day the Temple workers were appointed (12:44), the text from Deut 23:3-6 was read. It said that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God. Nehemiah later discovered (Neh 13:4-14) that these teachings were no longer being observed.

Dictionary and topics

Balaam · Balak sends for, to curse Israel — Balak sends for, to curse Israel
Moabites · Excluded from the congregation of Israel forever — Excluded from the congregation of Israel forever

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).