Nehemiah 9:32-37

32 "Now therefore, our God, ¹the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness, Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You, Which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people, ²From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.

33 "However, ³You are just in all that has come upon 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 admonitions with which You have admonished them.

35 "But ⁴they, in their own kingdom, ⁵With Your great goodness which You gave them, With the broad and rich land which You set before them, Did not serve You or turn from their evil deeds.

36 "Behold, ⁶we are slaves today, And as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its bounty, Behold, we are slaves in it.

37 "⁷Its 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.

Nehemiah 9:32-37 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

• 1. Nehemiah 1:5
• 2. 2 Kings 15:19, 29; 2 Kings 17:3-6; Ezra 4:2, 10
• 3. Genesis 18:25; Jeremiah 12:1
• 4. Deuteronomy 28:47
• 5. Nehemiah 9:25
• 6. Deuteronomy 28:48
• 7. Deuteronomy 28:33

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "testimonies"
• [b]. Or "witnessed"