Nehemiah 9:6-37
English Standard Version
6 [a] (A)“You are the Lord, you alone. (B)You have made heaven, (C)the heaven of heavens, (D)with all their host, (E)the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; (F)and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the Lord, the God (G)who chose Abram and brought him out of (H)Ur of the Chaldeans (I)and gave him the name Abraham. 8 (J)You found his heart faithful before you, (K)and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring (L)the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. (M)And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.
9 (N)“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard (O)their cry at the Red Sea, 10 (P)and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that (Q)they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And (R)you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. 11 (S)And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, (T)as a stone into mighty waters. 12 By (U)a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. 13 (V)You came down on Mount Sinai (W)and spoke with them from heaven and gave them (X)right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 (Y)and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15 (Z)You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and (AA)brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you (AB)told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.
16 “But they and our fathers (AC)acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. 17 They refused to obey (AD)and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.[b] But you are a God ready to forgive, (AE)gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. 18 Even (AF)when they had made for themselves a golden[c] calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ (AG)and had committed great blasphemies, 19 you (AH)in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. (AI)The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, (AJ)nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. 20 (AK)You gave your good Spirit to instruct them (AL)and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. 21 (AM)Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
22 “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. (AN)So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon (AO)and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You multiplied their children (AP)as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. 24 (AQ)So the descendants went in and possessed the land, (AR)and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25 And they captured (AS)fortified cities and (AT)a rich land, and took possession of (AU)houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled (AV)and became fat and delighted themselves in (AW)your great goodness.
26 (AX)“Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you (AY)and cast your law behind their back (AZ)and killed your prophets, who (BA)had warned them in order to turn them back to you, (BB)and they committed great blasphemies. 27 (BC)Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. (BD)And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them (BE)saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. 28 (BF)But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, (BG)and many times you delivered them according to your mercies. 29 (BH)And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet (BI)they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, (BJ)which if a person does them, he shall live by them, (BK)and they turned a stubborn shoulder (BL)and stiffened their neck and would not obey. 30 Many years (BM)you bore with them (BN)and warned them (BO)by your Spirit through your prophets. (BP)Yet they would not give ear. (BQ)Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, (BR)in your great mercies (BS)you did not make an end of them or forsake them, (BT)for you are a gracious and merciful God.
32 “Now, therefore, our God, (BU)the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, (BV)since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 (BW)Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully (BX)and we have acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. 35 Even in their own kingdom, (BY)and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and (BZ)rich land that you set before them, (CA)they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. 36 Behold, (CB)we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. 37 (CC)And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 9:6 Septuagint adds And Ezra said
- Nehemiah 9:17 Some Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their slavery
- Nehemiah 9:18 Hebrew metal
Nehemiah 9:6-37
Holman Christian Standard Bible
6 You[a] alone are Yahweh.(A)
You created the heavens,
the highest heavens with all their host,
the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to all of them,(B)
and the heavenly host worships You.(C)
7 You are Yahweh,
the God who chose Abram
and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,(D)
and changed his name to Abraham.(E)
8 You found his heart faithful in Your sight,(F)
and made a covenant with him
to give the land of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,
Jebusites, and Girgashites—
to give it to his descendants.(G)
You have kept Your promise,
for You are righteous.
9 You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egypt(H)
and heard their cry at the Red Sea.
10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
all his officials, and all the people of his land,(I)
for You knew how arrogantly they treated our ancestors.
You made a name for Yourself
that endures to this day.
11 You divided the sea before them,
and they crossed through it on dry ground.(J)
You hurled their pursuers into the depths
like a stone into churning waters.(K)
12 You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,
and with a pillar of fire by night,
to illuminate the way they should go.(L)
13 You came down on Mount Sinai,(M)
and spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions,
and good statutes and commands.
14 You revealed Your holy Sabbath to them,
and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction
through Your servant Moses.(N)
15 You provided bread from heaven(O) for their hunger;
You brought them water from the rock(P) for their thirst.
You told them to go in and possess the land
You had sworn[b] to give them.(Q)
16 But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
17 They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them.(R)
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.[c](S)
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,(T)
and You did not abandon them.
18 Even after they had cast an image of a calf
for themselves and said,
“This is your God who brought you out of Egypt,”(U)
and they had committed terrible blasphemies,
19 You did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of Your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go.(V)
20 You sent Your good Spirit(W) to instruct them.
You did not withhold Your manna(X) from their mouths,
and You gave them water for their thirst.(Y)
21 You provided for them in the wilderness 40 years(Z)
and they lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out,
and their feet did not swell.(AA)
22 You gave them kingdoms and peoples
and assigned them to be a boundary.
They took possession
of the land of Sihon[d] king of Heshbon
and of the land of Og king of Bashan.(AB)
23 You multiplied their descendants
like the stars of heaven(AC)
and brought them to the land
You told their ancestors to go in and take possession of it.
24 So their descendants went in and possessed the land:
You subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land before them
and handed their kings and the surrounding peoples over to them,(AD)
to do as they pleased with them.
25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land
and took possession of well-supplied houses,
cisterns cut out of rock, vineyards,
olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance.(AE)
They ate, were filled,
became prosperous, and delighted in Your great goodness.
26 But they were disobedient and rebelled against You.
They flung Your law behind their backs(AF)
and killed Your prophets(AG)
who warned them
in order to turn them back to You.
They committed terrible blasphemies.
27 So You handed them over to their enemies,
who oppressed them.
In their time of distress, they cried out to You,
and You heard from heaven.
In Your abundant compassion
You gave them deliverers, who rescued them
from the power of their enemies.
28 But as soon as they had relief,
they again did what was evil in Your sight.
So You abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who dominated them.
When they cried out to You again,
You heard from heaven and rescued them
many times in Your compassion.(AH)
29 You warned them to turn back to Your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey Your commands.
They sinned against Your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them.(AI)
They stubbornly resisted,[e]
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
30 You were patient with them for many years,
and Your Spirit warned them through Your prophets,(AJ)
but they would not listen.
Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples.(AK)
31 However, in Your abundant compassion,
You did not destroy them or abandon them,(AL)
for You are a gracious and compassionate God.(AM)
32 So now, our God—the great, mighty,
and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant(AN)—
do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,
our kings and leaders,
our priests and prophets,
our ancestors and all Your people,
from the days of the Assyrian kings(AO) until today.
33 You are righteous concerning all that has come on us,
because You have acted faithfully,
while we have acted wickedly.(AP)
34 Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors
did not obey Your law
or listen to Your commands
and warnings You gave them.
35 When they were in their kingdom,
with Your abundant goodness that You gave them,
and in the spacious and fertile land You set before them,(AQ)
they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
36 Here we are today,
slaves in the land You gave our ancestors
so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.
Here we are—slaves in it!(AR)
37 Its abundant harvest goes to the kings
You have set over us,
because of our sins.
They rule over our bodies
and our livestock as they please.(AS)
We are in great distress.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 9:6 LXX reads And Ezra said: You
- Nehemiah 9:15 Lit lifted Your hand
- Nehemiah 9:17 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read in their rebellion
- Nehemiah 9:22 One Hb ms, LXX; other Hb mss, Vg read Sihon, even the land of the
- Nehemiah 9:29 Lit They gave a stubborn shoulder
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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