Nehemiah 9:31-38

31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
32 “Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty and awesome, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come on us, on our kings and leaders, on our priests and prophets, on our ancestors and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.
33 In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly.
34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our ancestors did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep.
35 Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways.
36 “But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces.
37 Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.
38 “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”[a]

Cross References 16

  • 1. Isaiah 48:9; Isaiah 65:9; Jeremiah 4:27
  • 2. S Deuteronomy 4:31
  • 3. Job 9:19; Psalms 24:8; Psalms 89:8; Psalms 93:4
  • 4. S Deuteronomy 7:21
  • 5. S Deuteronomy 7:9; S 1 Kings 8:23; Daniel 9:4
  • 6. S Exodus 18:8
  • 7. S Genesis 18:25
  • 8. Jeremiah 44:3; Da 9:7-8,14
  • 9. S 2 Kings 23:11
  • 10. Jeremiah 44:17
  • 11. Isaiah 63:7
  • 12. Deuteronomy 28:45-48
  • 13. Deuteronomy 28:48; S Ezra 9:9
  • 14. Deuteronomy 28:33; Lamentations 5:5
  • 15. S 2 Chronicles 23:16
  • 16. Isaiah 44:5

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. In Hebrew texts this verse (9:38) is numbered 10:1.
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