And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field.
And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them. The people, disgusted with the malversations of Eliashib or the lax and irregular performance of the sacred rites, withheld the tithes, so that the ministers of religion were compelled for their livelihood to withdraw to their patrimonial possessions in the country; the temple services had ceased; all religious duties fallen into neglect; and the money put into the sacred treasury squandered in the entertainment of an Ammonite pagan, an open and contemptuous enemy of God and his people.
The return of the governor put an end to these disgraceful and profane proceedings. He administered a sharp rebuke to those priests, to whom the management of the temple and its services was committed (Eliashib not being mentioned, it is probable that he had died), for the total neglect of their duties, and the violation of the solemn promises which they had made to him at his departure. He rebuked them with the serious charge of having not only withheld from men their dues, but of having robbed God, by neglecting the care of His house and service. And thus, having roused them to a sense of duty, and incited them to testify their godly sorrow for their criminal negligence by renewed devotedness to their sacred work, Nehemiah restored the temple services, by recalling the dispersed Levites to the regular discharge of their duties, while the people at large, perceiving that their contributions would be no longer perverted to improper uses, willingly brought in their tithes as formerly. Men of integrity and good report were appointed to act as trustees of the sacred treasures, and thus order, regularity, and active service re-established in the temple.