19. So this is what I did: Every Friday evening, just before dark, I commanded the gatekeepers to shut and lock the gates to Jerusalem. They were not to be opened until the Sabbath day was over. I put some of my own men at the gates. They were commanded to make sure that no load was brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
20. One or two times, traders and merchants had to stay the night outside Jerusalem.
21. But I warned them, “Don’t stay the night in front of the wall. If you do that again, I will arrest you.” So from that time on they didn’t come on the Sabbath day to sell their things.
22. Then I commanded the Levites to make themselves pure. After they did that, they were to go and guard the gates. This was done to make sure the Sabbath day was kept a holy day. My God, please remember me for doing this. Be kind to me and show me your great love!
23. In those days I also noticed that some Jewish men had married women from the countries of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
24. And half of the children from those marriages didn’t know how to speak the Jewish language. They spoke the language of Ashdod, Ammon, or Moab.
25. So I told the men that they were wrong. I said bad things to them. I hit some of them, and I pulled out their hair. I forced them to make a promise in God’s name. I said to them, “You must not marry the daughters of these foreigners. Don’t let their daughters marry your sons, and don’t let your daughters marry the sons of these foreigners.
26. You know that marriages like this caused Solomon to sin. In all the many nations, there was not a king as great as Solomon. God loved him and made him king over the whole nation of Israel. But even Solomon was made to sin because of foreign women.
27. And now, we hear that you also are doing this terrible sin. You are not being true to our God. You are marrying foreign women.”
28. Joiada was the son of Eliashib the high priest. One of Joiada’s sons was a son-in-law of Sanballat from Horon. I forced him to leave this place. I forced him to run away.
29. My God, punish these people. They made the priesthood unclean. They treated it as if it was not important. They did not obey the agreement that you made with the priests and Levites.
30. So I made the priests and Levites clean and pure. I took away all the foreigners and the strange things they taught. And I gave the Levites and priests their own duties and responsibilities.
31. And I made sure that people will bring gifts of wood and the first part of their harvest at the right times. My God, remember me for doing these good things.