28 ⁹"The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, ¹⁰and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding,

29 join with their brothers, their nobles, ¹¹and enter into a curse and an oath ¹²to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes.

30 ¹³We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.

31 ¹⁴And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the ¹⁵seventh year and the ¹⁶exaction of every debt.

32 "We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly ¹⁷a third part of a shekel^[c] for the service of the house of our God:

33 ¹⁸for the showbread, ¹⁹the regular grain offering, ²⁰the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

34 ²¹We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots ²²for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, ²³as it is written in the Law.

35 We obligate ourselves ²⁴to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the LORD;

36 also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, ²⁵as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks;

37 ²⁶and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, ²⁷to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor.

38 And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of ²⁸the storehouse.

39 For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi ²⁹shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. ³⁰We will not neglect the house of our God."

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Nehemiah 10 Commentary

Chapter 10

The covenant, Those who signed it. (1-31) Their engagement to sacred rites. (32-39)

Verses 1-31 Conversion is separating from the course and custom of this world, devoting ourselves to the conduct directed by the word of God. When we bind ourselves to do the commandments of God, it is to do all his commandments, and to look to him as the Lord, and our Lord.

Verses 32-39 Having covenanted against the sins of which they had been guilty, they obliged themselves to observe the duties they had neglected. We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well. Let not any people expect the blessing of God, unless they keep up public worship. It is likely to go well with our houses, when care is taken that the work of God's house goes on well. When every one helps, and every one gives, though but little, toward a good work, the whole will come to be a large sum. We must do what we can in works of piety and charity; and whatever state we are placed in, cheerfully perform our duty to God, which will be the surest way to ease and liberty. As the ordinances of God are the appointed means of support to our souls, the believer will not grudge the expense; yet most people leave their souls to starve.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 30

1. Nehemiah 9:38
2. See Nehemiah 8:9
3. Nehemiah 1:1
4. For ver. 2-27, see Nehemiah 12:2-21
5. Ezra 8:2
6. Ezra 2:40
7. Ezra 3:9
8. See Nehemiah 7:8-42; Ezra 2:3-35
9. See Ezra 2:36-54
10. See Nehemiah 9:2
11. Nehemiah 5:12, 13; Deuteronomy 29:12, 14; [Psalms 119:106]
12. [2 Kings 23:3; 2 Chronicles 34:31]
13. Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3; Ezra 9:12, 14
14. Exodus 20:10; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:12; See Nehemiah 13:15-22
15. Exodus 23:10, 11; Leviticus 25:4
16. Deuteronomy 15:1, 2; [Nehemiah 5:12]
17. [Matthew 17:24]
18. 2 Chronicles 2:4; [1 Chronicles 9:32]; See Leviticus 24:5-9
19. See Numbers 28; Numbers 29
20. See Numbers 28; Numbers 29
21. [Nehemiah 11:1]
22. Nehemiah 13:31; [Isaiah 40:16]
23. Leviticus 6:12
24. Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Leviticus 19:23, 24; Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 26:2
25. Ex. 13:2, 12, 13; Leviticus 27:26, 27; Numbers 18:15, 16
26. Leviticus 23:17; Numbers 15:20, 21; Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 18:4
27. 1 Chronicles 9:26; 2 Chronicles 31:11
28. 1 Chronicles 26:20
29. [Nehemiah 13:12; Deuteronomy 12:6, 11; 2 Chronicles 31:12]
30. [Nehemiah 13:11]

Footnotes 3

[a]. Ch 10:2 in Hebrew
[b]. Hebrew lacks the names of
[c]. A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 10

In this chapter we have the names of the persons that signed and sealed the covenant mentioned in the last chapter, Ne 10:1-27, and the things they agreed unto and promised to perform; in general to observe the law of God, in particular not to marry with the people of the land, to keep the sabbaths weekly and yearly, to pay annually the third part of the shekel for the service of the temple, to bring into it the wood offerings, first fruits, firstborn, and tithes, Ne 10:28-39.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible