Nehemiah 10:37

Verse

Moreover, we will bring to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God the firstfruits of our dough, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and oil. A tenth of our produce belongs to the Levites, so that they shall receive tithes in all the towns where we labor.

American Standard Version (1901)

and that we should bring the first-fruits of our dough, and our heave-offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, the new wine and the oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

Bible in Basic English

And that we would take the first of our rough meal, and our lifted offerings, and the fruit of every sort of tree, and wine and oil, to the priests, to the rooms of the house of our God; and the tenth of the produce of our land to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take a tenth in all the towns of our ploughed land.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And that we would bring the firstfruits of our meats, and of our libations, and the fruit of every tree, of the vintage also and of oil to the priests, to the storehouse of our God, and the tithes of our ground to the Levites. The Levites also shall receive the tithes of our works out of all the cities.

Free Bible Version

We will bring to the storerooms of the Temple of our God, to the priests, the first part of our coarse-ground flour, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and olive oil. We will also bring a tithe of our produce to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who collect the tithes in all the farming towns.

Geneva Bible 1599

And that we should bring the first fruite of our dough, and our offrings, and the fruite of euery tree, of wine and of oyle, vnto the Priests, to the chambers of the house of our God: and the tithes of our lande vnto the Leuites, that the Leuites might haue the tithes in all the cities of our trauaile.

King James (Authorized) Version

And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

Translation for Translators

“We will also take to the priests at the temple the flour made from the first grain that we harvest each year, and our other offerings of wine, olive oil, and fruit. We will also take to the descendants of Levi who help the priests the tithes/10% of the crops that we grow on our land, because they are the ones who collect the tithes in all the villages where we work/live.

Unlocked Literal Bible

We will bring the first of our dough and our grain offerings, and the fruit of every tree, and the new wine and the oil we will bring to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God. We will bring to the Levites the tithes from our soil because the Levites collect the tithes in all the towns where we work.

Noah Webster Bible

And that we should bring the first-fruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

World English Bible

and that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, our wave offerings, the fruit of all kinds of trees, and the new wine and the oil, to the priests, to the rooms of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all our farming villages.

Young's Literal Translation

And the beginning of our dough, and our heave-offerings, and the fruit of every tree, of new wine, and of oil, we bring in to the priests, unto the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites; and they — the Levites — have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage;

Context

The Vows of the Covenant

³⁶And we will bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as it is written in the Law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God.³⁷Moreover, we will bring to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God the firstfruits of our dough, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and oil. A tenth of our produce belongs to the Levites, so that they shall receive tithes in all the towns where we labor.³⁸A priest of Aaron’s line is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of these tithes to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.

Summary

In Nehemiah 10:37, the Israelites commit to bringing the firstfruits of their crops and the firstborn of their livestock to the house of God, as an offering to the priests who serve in the temple. This act of giving the best of their produce and animals demonstrates their obedience to God's commands and their recognition of His provision in their lives. By honoring God with their firstfruits, the Israelites acknowledge His ownership over all they have and express their gratitude for His faithfulness. This verse reflects the principle of giving back to God from the blessings He has bestowed, setting a pattern of generosity and worship for believers to follow.

Commentary

John Gill
Tyndale

John Gill Bible Commentary

And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes,.... There was always to be a priest with the Levites at such times, to take notice what quantity they received, that they might not be under any temptation, or lie under any suspicion of defrauding the priests of their due, who were to have a part in the tithes, as follows: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house: which were in the court of the priests for that purpose; for out of the tithes of the Levites there was another tithe or tenth part taken, and given to the priests, see Num 18:26.