Nehemiah 1:4

4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the God of the heavens

Nehemiah 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 1:4

And it came to pass, when I heard these words
This sad and melancholy account of things:

that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days;
sat down upon the ground in dust and ashes, after the manner of mourners, and wept bitterly, and mourned in a most sorrowful manner, see ( Job 2:8 Job 2:12 Job 2:13 ) ,

and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven;
that made it, and dwells in it.

Nehemiah 1:4 In-Context

2 that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.

4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the God of the heavens

5 and said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of the heavens, strong, great and terrible, who keeps covenant and mercy for those that love thee and observe thy commandments;

6 let thine ear now be attentive and thine eyes open, that thou may hear the prayer of thy slave, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the sons of Israel, thy slaves, and I confess the sins of the sons of Israel, with which we have sinned against thee; both I and my father’s house have sinned.