Nehemiah 13:22

22 Then I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the city gates to make sure the Sabbath remained holy. Remember me, my God, for this. Have mercy on me because of your great love.

Nehemiah 13:22 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 13:22

And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse
themselves
From all ceremonial uncleanness, that they might be fit in a ceremonial sense to perform the duties of the office on the sabbath day:

and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the
sabbath day;
not the gates of the city, his servants were placed there, nor was this the work of the Levites, and much less did this require a particular purification to fit for it; but the gates of the temple, that no impure person might enter there; and on that day it required the greater diligence, because of the number of people that came to worship:

remember me, O my God, concerning this also;
with respect to his care to have the sabbath kept holy, as well as his concern for the honour of the house of God, and the maintenance of his ministers, ( Nehemiah 13:14 ) ,

and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy;
he desired to be dealt with, not according to any merits of his own, but according to the abundant mercy of God; that he would kindly and graciously vouchsafe to accept any good that he had done for his mercy sake, and forgive whatever was amiss in him.

Nehemiah 13:22 In-Context

20 Once or twice traders and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem.

21 So I warned them, "Why are you spending the night by the wall? If you do it again, I will force you away." After that, they did not come back on the Sabbath.

22 Then I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the city gates to make sure the Sabbath remained holy. Remember me, my God, for this. Have mercy on me because of your great love.

23 In those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

24 Half their children were speaking the language of Ashdod or some other place, and they couldn't speak the language of Judah.