Nehemiah 7:64
What does Nehemiah 7:64 mean?
A plain-English look at Nehemiah 7:64 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nehemiah 7:64 means
These priestly claimants sought their registration among those reckoned by genealogy but could not be found. As a result, they were deemed polluted and excluded from the priesthood. The term expresses ritual unsuitability, not a moral verdict. Without documented lineage, they could not be entrusted with holy duties that required strict qualifications. This decision protected the sanctity of worship and the community’s obedience to God’s established order. It shows that zeal or association cannot replace rightful standing when it comes to sacred service.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000These sought their registeramongthose that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they deemed polluted and put from the priesthood.
KJV
King James Version · 1611These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901These sought their registeramongthose that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they deemed polluted and put from the priesthood.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949They made search for their record among the lists of families, but their names were nowhere to be seen, so they were looked on as unclean and no longer priests.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862These have sought their register among those reckoning themselves by genealogy, and it hath not been found, and they are redeemed from the priesthood,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752These sought their writing in the record, and found it not: and they were cast out of the priesthood.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890These sought their genealogical register, but it was not found; therefore were they, as polluted, removed from the priesthood.
Context
Verse 64 delivers the verdict on priests without verified genealogy, following the concern raised in verse 63. The community, committed to order and purity, excludes them from priestly functions. The next verse (65) will specify the governor’s instruction to defer their participation in consuming the most holy things until further divine guidance could be accessed. Together, these verses balance reverence for God’s requirements with a posture open to God’s eventual clarification, maintaining both holiness and hope.
v.63And of the priests: the children of Hobaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name.
v.64This passage
v.65And the governor said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Nehemiah 13:29
Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.
- Matthew 22:11
But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment:
- Nehemiah 7:5
And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of them that came up at the first, and I found written therein:
- 1 Chronicles 9:1
So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. And Judah was carried away captive to Babylon for their transgression.
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