“Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.”
King James Version (KJV)
13:1 That day - Not presently after the dedication of the wall and city, but upon a certain day, when Nehemiah was returned from the Persian court to Jerusalem, from which he had been absent for some considerable time, in which some errors and abuses had crept in. Not come - Not be incorporated into the common - wealth of Israel, nor be joined with any Israelite in marriage.
13:3 Multitude - All the heathenish people with whom they had contracted alliance.
13:4 Eliashib - The high - priest. Chamber - Of the chambers, the high - priest having the chief power over the house of God, and all the chambers belonging to it. Tobiah - The Ammonite, and a violent enemy to God's people.