Nehemiah 9:6-37
New American Standard Bible
6 (A)You alone are the Lord.
(B)You have made the heavens,
The heaven of heavens with all their [a]lights,
The earth and everything that is on it,
The seas and everything that is in them.
(C)You give life to all of them,
And the heavenly [b]lights bow down before You.
7 You are the Lord God,
(D)Who chose Abram
And brought him out from (E)Ur of the Chaldees,
And (F)gave him the name Abraham.
8 You found (G)his heart faithful before You,
And made a covenant with him
To give him the land of the Canaanite,
Of the Hittite and the Amorite,
Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite—
To give it to his [c]descendants.
And You (H)have fulfilled Your [d]promise,
Because You are righteous.
9 “(I)You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And (J)heard their cry by the [e]Red Sea.
10 Then You performed (K)signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants and all the people of his land;
For You knew that (L)they acted arrogantly toward them,
And You (M)made a name for Yourself as it is this day.
11 (N)You divided the sea before them,
So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground;
And You hurled (O)their pursuers into the depths,
Like a stone into [f]raging waters.
12 And with a pillar of cloud (P)You led them by day,
And with a pillar of fire by night
To light for them the way
In which they were to go.
13 Then (Q)You came down on Mount Sinai,
And (R)spoke with them from heaven;
You gave them (S)just ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
14 So You made known to them (T)Your holy Sabbath,
And gave them commandments, statutes, and law,
Through Your servant Moses.
15 You (U)provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger,
You (V)brought out water from a rock for them for their thirst,
And You (W)told them to enter in order to take possession of
The land which You [g]swore to give them.
16 “But they, our fathers, (X)acted arrogantly;
They [h](Y)became stubborn and would not listen to Your commandments.
17 They refused to listen,
And (Z)did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You performed among them;
So they became stubborn and (AA)appointed a leader to return to their slavery in [i]Egypt.
But You are a God (AB)of forgiveness,
Gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in [j]mercy;
And You did not abandon them.
18 Even when they (AC)made for themselves
A calf of cast metal
And said, ‘This is your [k]god
Who brought you up from Egypt,’
And committed great blasphemies,
19 (AD)You, in Your great compassion,
Did not abandon them in the wilderness;
(AE)The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day,
To guide them on their way,
Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.
20 Instead, (AF)You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,
You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst.
21 Indeed, for (AG)forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not lacking;
Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell up.
22 You also gave them kingdoms and peoples,
And allotted them to them as a [l]boundary.
(AH)They took possession of the land of Sihon [m]the king of Heshbon
And the land of Og the king of Bashan.
23 You made their sons as numerous as (AI)the stars of heaven,
And You brought them into the land
Which You had told their fathers to enter and possess.
24 (AJ)So their sons entered and took possession of the land.
And (AK)You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites,
And You handed them over to them, with their kings and the peoples of the land,
To do with them [n]as they desired.
25 (AL)They captured fortified cities and a [o](AM)fertile land.
They took possession of (AN)houses full of every good thing,
Carved out cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,
Fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate, were filled and (AO)put on fat,
And (AP)lived luxuriously in Your great goodness.
26 “(AQ)But they became rebellious and revolted against You,
And (AR)threw Your Law behind their backs
And (AS)killed Your prophets who had (AT)admonished them
In order to bring them back to You,
And (AU)they committed great blasphemies.
27 Therefore You (AV)handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them,
But when they cried out to You (AW)in the time of their distress,
You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion
You (AX)gave them [p]people who saved them from the hand of their enemies.
28 But (AY)as soon as they had rest, they did evil again before You;
Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them.
When they cried out again to You, You heard from heaven,
And (AZ)many times You rescued them according to Your compassion,
29 And (BA)admonished them in order to turn them back to Your Law.
Yet (BB)they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your ordinances,
(BC)Which, if a person [q]follows them, then he will live by them.
And they [r](BD)turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen.
30 (BE)However, You remained patient with them for many years,
And (BF)admonished them by (BG)Your Spirit through Your prophets,
Yet they would not listen.
Therefore You handed them over to the peoples of the lands.
31 Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You (BH)did not make an end of them or abandon them,
For You are (BI)a gracious and compassionate God.
32 “Now then, our God, (BJ)the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps His covenant and faithfulness,
Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You,
Which has happened to us, our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and to all Your people,
(BK)From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.
33 However, (BL)You are righteous in everything that has happened to us;
For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly.
34 For our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Your Law
Or paid attention to Your commandments and Your [s]admonitions with which You have [t]admonished them.
35 But (BM)they, in their own kingdom,
(BN)With Your great goodness which You gave them,
With the broad and rich land which You placed before them,
Did not serve You or turn from their evil deeds.
36 Behold, (BO)we are slaves today,
And as for the land which You gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its bounty,
Behold, we are slaves on it.
37 And (BP)its abundant produce is for the kings
Whom You have set over us because of our sins;
They also rule over our bodies
And over our cattle as they please,
So we are in great distress.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 9:6 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
- Nehemiah 9:6 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
- Nehemiah 9:8 Lit seed
- Nehemiah 9:8 Lit words
- Nehemiah 9:9 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Nehemiah 9:11 Lit strong, mighty
- Nehemiah 9:15 Lit lifted up Your hand
- Nehemiah 9:16 Lit stiffened their neck; so also v 17
- Nehemiah 9:17 As in LXX and some Heb mss; MT their rebellion
- Nehemiah 9:17 Or faithfulness
- Nehemiah 9:18 Or God; i.e., an idol intended to represent God
- Nehemiah 9:22 Lit side, corner
- Nehemiah 9:22 As in LXX and Lat; MT and the land of the king of Heshbon
- Nehemiah 9:24 Lit according to their desire
- Nehemiah 9:25 Lit fat
- Nehemiah 9:27 Lit deliverers
- Nehemiah 9:29 Lit does them
- Nehemiah 9:29 Lit gave
- Nehemiah 9:34 Lit testimonies
- Nehemiah 9:34 Or testified to
Nehemiah 9:6-37
New King James Version
6 (A)You alone are the Lord;
(B)You have made heaven,
(C)The heaven of heavens, with (D)all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You (E)preserve them all.
The host of heaven worships You.
7 “You are the Lord God,
Who chose (F)Abram,
And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,
And gave him the name (G)Abraham;
8 You found his heart (H)faithful before You,
And made a (I)covenant with him
To give the land of the Canaanites,
The Hittites, the Amorites,
The Perizzites, the Jebusites,
And the Girgashites—
To give it to his descendants.
You (J)have performed Your words,
For You are righteous.
9 “You(K) saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And (L)heard their cry by the Red Sea.
10 You (M)showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants,
And against all the people of his land.
For You knew that they (N)acted [a]proudly against them.
So You (O)made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.
11 (P)And You divided the sea before them,
So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land;
And their persecutors You threw into the deep,
(Q)As a stone into the mighty waters.
12 Moreover You (R)led them by day with a cloudy pillar,
And by night with a pillar of fire,
To give them light on the road
Which they should travel.
13 “You(S) came down also on Mount Sinai,
And spoke with them from heaven,
And gave them (T)just ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
14 You made known to them Your (U)holy Sabbath,
And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws,
By the hand of Moses Your servant.
15 You (V)gave them bread from heaven for their hunger,
And (W)brought them water out of the rock for their thirst,
And told them to (X)go in to possess the land
Which You had [b]sworn to give them.
16 “But(Y) they and our fathers acted [c]proudly,
(Z)Hardened[d] their necks,
And did not heed Your commandments.
17 They refused to obey,
And (AA)they were not mindful of Your wonders
That You did among them.
But they hardened their necks,
And [e]in their rebellion
They appointed (AB)a leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
(AC)Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.
18 “Even (AD)when they made a molded calf for themselves,
And said, ‘This is your god
That brought you up out of Egypt,’
And worked great provocations,
19 Yet in Your (AE)manifold mercies
You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
The (AF)pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on the road;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To show them light,
And the way they should go.
20 You also gave Your (AG)good Spirit to instruct them,
And did not withhold Your (AH)manna from their mouth,
And gave them (AI)water for their thirst.
21 (AJ)Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
They lacked nothing;
Their (AK)clothes did not wear out
And their feet did not swell.
22 “Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations,
And divided them into [f]districts.
So they took possession of the land of (AL)Sihon,
[g]The land of the king of Heshbon,
And the land of Og king of Bashan.
23 You also multiplied (AM)their children as the stars of heaven,
And brought them into the land
Which You had told their fathers
To go in and possess.
24 So (AN)the [h]people went in
And possessed the land;
(AO)You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land,
The Canaanites,
And gave them into their hands,
With their kings
And the people of the land,
That they might do with them as they wished.
25 And they took strong cities and a (AP)rich land,
And possessed (AQ)houses full of all goods,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
And [i]fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate and were filled and (AR)grew fat,
And delighted themselves in Your great (AS)goodness.
26 “Nevertheless they (AT)were disobedient
And rebelled against You,
(AU)Cast Your law behind their backs
And killed Your (AV)prophets, who [j]testified against them
To turn them to Yourself;
And they worked great provocations.
27 (AW)Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies,
Who oppressed them;
And in the time of their trouble,
When they cried to You,
You (AX)heard from heaven;
And according to Your abundant mercies
(AY)You gave them deliverers who saved them
From the hand of their enemies.
28 “But after they had rest,
(AZ)They again did evil before You.
Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies,
So that they had dominion over them;
Yet when they returned and cried out to You,
You heard from heaven;
And (BA)many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
29 And [k]testified against them,
That You might bring them back to Your law.
Yet they acted [l]proudly,
And did not heed Your commandments,
But sinned against Your judgments,
(BB)‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’
And they shrugged their shoulders,
[m]Stiffened their necks,
And would not hear.
30 Yet for many years You had patience with them,
And [n]testified (BC)against them by Your Spirit (BD)in Your prophets.
Yet they would not listen;
(BE)Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy
(BF)You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them;
For You are God, gracious and merciful.
32 “Now therefore, our God,
The great, the (BG)mighty, and awesome God,
Who keeps covenant and mercy:
Do not let all the [o]trouble seem small before You
That has come upon us,
Our kings and our princes,
Our priests and our prophets,
Our fathers and on all Your people,
(BH)From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.
33 However (BI)You are just in all that has befallen us;
For You have dealt faithfully,
But (BJ)we have done wickedly.
34 Neither our kings nor our princes,
Our priests nor our fathers,
Have kept Your law,
Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies,
With which You testified against them.
35 For they have (BK)not served You in their kingdom,
Or in the many good things that You gave them,
Or in the large and rich land which You set before them;
Nor did they turn from their wicked works.
36 “Here (BL)we are, servants today!
And the land that You gave to our fathers,
To eat its fruit and its bounty,
Here we are, servants in it!
37 And (BM)it yields much increase to the kings
You have set over us,
Because of our sins;
Also they have (BN)dominion over our bodies and our cattle
At their pleasure;
And we are in great distress.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 9:10 presumptuously or insolently
- Nehemiah 9:15 Lit. raised Your hand to
- Nehemiah 9:16 presumptuously
- Nehemiah 9:16 Stiffened their necks, became stubborn
- Nehemiah 9:17 So with MT, Vg.; LXX in Egypt
- Nehemiah 9:22 Lit. corners
- Nehemiah 9:22 So with MT, Vg.; LXX omits The land of
- Nehemiah 9:24 Lit. sons
- Nehemiah 9:25 Lit. trees for eating
- Nehemiah 9:26 admonished or warned them
- Nehemiah 9:29 admonished them
- Nehemiah 9:29 presumptuously
- Nehemiah 9:29 Became stubborn
- Nehemiah 9:30 admonished or warned them
- Nehemiah 9:32 hardship
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
