Charles Ellicott Commentary Nehemiah 13:11

"Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place." — Nehemiah 13:11 (ASV)

Contended I with the rulers. —See their express covenant in Nehemiah 10:39. The rich men had taken advantage of Nehemiah’s absence to indulge their covetousness.

And I gathered them together. —The Levites were summoned back from their fields.