Nehemiah 10:30

We will not give our daughters in marriage to the people of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The covenant signers in Nehemiah 10 address their mutual and divine commitment. They issue this pledge immediately after swearing to keep the Law of Moses and before detailing Sabbath and debt regulations.

The words — The Hebrew לֹא (lo) and נִתֵּן (nitteṇ) combine to form the binding negative "we will not give." The phrase בְּנֹתֵינוּ לְעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ (bəṯōṯēnû ləʿammê hāʾāreṣ) literally translates to "our daughters to the peoples of the land."

The thread — This marriage restriction directly restates the covenant command in Deuteronomy 7:3 and Exodus 34:16. Ezra later applies the same boundary when confronting the post-exilic community in Ezra 9:1.

Why it lands — The text requires the community to maintain distinct boundaries to prevent religious compromise. It asks readers to identify where they draw lines between their commitments and surrounding cultural practices.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַאֲשֶׁ֛רva./'a.Sherand/ that לֹא־lo'-not נִתֵּ֥ןni.Tenwe will give בְּנֹתֵ֖ינוּbe.no.Tei./nudaughters/ our לְעַמֵּ֣יle./'a.Meito/ [the] peoples of הָאָ֑רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ land וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>בְּנֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔םbe.No.tei./Hemdaughters/ their לֹ֥אlo'not נִקַּ֖חni.Kachwe will take לְבָנֵֽינוּ׃le./va.Nei./nufor/ sons/ our

King James Version

And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 7:3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
Exodus 34:16 And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.
Ezra 9:1 After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
Ezra 9:12 Now, therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, leaving it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’
Ezra 10:10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel.