Nehemiah 9:18-28

18 They made an idol in the shape of a bull-calf 1 and said it was the god who led them from Egypt! How much they insulted you, Lord!
19 But you did not abandon them there in the desert, 2 for your mercy is great. You did not take away the cloud or the fire that showed them the path by day and night.
20 In your goodness you told them what they should do; you fed them manna and gave them water to drink.
21 Through forty years in the desert you provided all that they needed; their clothing never wore out, and their feet were not swollen with pain.
22 "You let them conquer nations and kingdoms, 3 lands that bordered their own. They conquered the land of Heshbon, where Sihon ruled, and the land of Bashan, where Og was king.
23 You gave them as many children as there are stars in the sky, 4 and let them conquer and live in the land that you had promised their ancestors to give them.
24 They conquered the land of Canaan; 5 you overcame the people living there. You gave your people the power to do as they pleased with the people and kings of Canaan.
25 Your people captured fortified cities, 6 fertile land, houses full of wealth, cisterns already dug, olive trees, fruit trees, and vineyards. They ate all they wanted and grew fat; they enjoyed all the good things you gave them.
26 "But your people rebelled and disobeyed you; 7 they turned their backs on your Law. They killed the prophets who warned them, who told them to turn back to you. They insulted you time after time,
27 so you let their enemies conquer and rule them. In their trouble they called to you for help, and you answered them from heaven. In your great mercy you sent them leaders who rescued them from their foes.
28 When peace returned, they sinned again, and again you let their enemies conquer them. Yet when they repented and asked you to save them, in heaven you heard, and time after time you rescued them in your great mercy.

Nehemiah 9:18-28 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 7

  • 1. 9.18Exodus 32.1-4.
  • 2. 9.19-21Deuteronomy 8.2-4.
  • 3. 9.22Numbers 21.21-35.
  • 4. 9.23 aGenesis 15.5; 22.17; bJoshua 3.14-17.
  • 5. 9.24Joshua 11.23.
  • 6. 9.25Deuteronomy 6.10, 11.
  • 7. 9.26-28Judges 2.11-16.+O+N+29.26Wisdom 2.10-20.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.