Nehemiah 13:17-19

Good News Translation

¹⁷ I reprimanded the Jewish leaders and told them, “Look at the evil you're doing! You're making the Sabbath unholy. ¹⁸ This is exactly why God punished your ancestors when he brought destruction on this city. And yet you insist on bringing more of God's anger down on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

¹⁹ So I gave orders for the city gates to be shut at the beginning of every Sabbath, as soon as evening^[a] began to fall, and not to be opened again until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my men at the gates to make sure that nothing was brought into the city on the Sabbath.