Nehemiah 9:2-12

2 The 1descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners *, and stood and 2confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 While 3they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.
4 4Now on the Levites' platform stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Chenani, and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God.
5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah, said, "Arise, bless the LORD your God forever * and ever! O may Your glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 "5You alone are the LORD. 6You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. 7You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.
7 "You are the LORD God, 8Who chose Abram And brought him out from 9Ur of the Chaldees, And 10gave him the name Abraham.
8 "You found 11his 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 descendants. And You 12have fulfilled Your promise, For You are righteous.
9 "13You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And 14heard their cry by the Red * Sea.
10 "Then You performed 15signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants and all the people of his land; For You knew that 16they acted arrogantly toward them, And 17made a name for Yourself as it is this day.
11 "18You divided the sea before them, So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground; And 19their pursuers You hurled into the depths, Like a stone into raging waters.
12 "And with a pillar of cloud 20You led them by day, And with a pillar of fire by night To light for them the way In which they were to go.

Nehemiah 9:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 9

In this chapter we have an account of a fast kept by the Jews, which was observed, as by outward acts of humiliation, so by confession of sin, reading the law, and worshipping the Lord, Ne 9:1-3 and of a long prayer that the Levites made, in which they celebrate the divine perfections, take notice of various instances of the goodness of God to the people of Israel, acknowledge their manifold transgressions, observe the Lord's correction of them for them, in which they own he was righteous, Ne 9:4-38.

Cross References 20

Footnotes 4

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