Nehemiah 13:25

25 And I strive with them, and declare them vile, and smite certain of them, and pluck off their hair, and cause them to swear by God, `Ye do not give your daughters to their sons, nor do ye take of their daughters to your sons, and to yourselves.

Nehemiah 13:25 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 13:25

And I contended with them
Argued with them, faithfully admonished them, and sharply reproved them:

and cursed them;
assuring them that the curse of God would come upon them, unless they repented. Aben Ezra interprets it of excommunicating them, either with "Cherem" or "Niddui", which were two sorts of excommunication among the Jews; but it is a question whether as yet those were used by them:

and smote certain of them;
ordered them to be beaten with rods or scourges, as transgressors of the law:

and plucked off their hair;
or ordered it to be plucked off by the executioner that smote them; which sort of punishment, as it was painful, it was disgraceful and ignominious, see ( Isaiah 1:6 ) ,

and made them swear by God, saying, ye shall not give your daughters
unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for
yourselves;
not intermarry with them; this they had sworn to before, ( Nehemiah 10:29 Nehemiah 10:30 ) .

Nehemiah 13:25 In-Context

23 Also, in those days, I have seen the Jews [who] have settled women of Ashdod, of Ammon, of Moab.

24 And of their sons, half are speaking Ashdoditish -- and are not knowing to speak Jewish -- and according to the language of people and people.

25 And I strive with them, and declare them vile, and smite certain of them, and pluck off their hair, and cause them to swear by God, `Ye do not give your daughters to their sons, nor do ye take of their daughters to your sons, and to yourselves.

26 `By these did not Solomon king of Israel sin? and among the many nations there was no king like him, and beloved by his God he was, and God maketh him king over all Israel -- even him did the strange women cause to sin.

27 And to you do we hearken to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God, to settle strange women?'