Nehemiah 9:13

13 Also thou camest down at the hill of Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and thou gavest to them rightful dooms, and the law of truth, ceremonies, and good commandments. (And thou camest down upon Mount Sinai, and spokest with them from heaven, and thou gavest them right judgements, and true laws, and good statutes, and commandments.)

Nehemiah 9:13 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 9:13

Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai
By some visible tokens of his presence, as a cloud, fire, smoke which must be understood consistent with his omniscience, see ( Exodus 19:18 ) ,

and spakest with them from heaven;
the decalogue or ten commandments, ( Exodus 20:1-17 ) ,

and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and
commandments;
both judicial and ceremonial, which were of excellent use to them in their civil and ecclesiastical polity; these were not spoken to Israel, but given to Moses on the mount, to be delivered to them.

Nehemiah 9:13 In-Context

11 And thou partedest the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea in the dry place; and thou castedest down the pursuers of them into the depth, as a stone in strong waters. (And thou partedest the Red Sea before them, and they passed through the middle of it on dry land; and thou threwest down their pursuers into the depths, like a stone thrown into mighty waters.)
12 And in a pillar of cloud thou were the leader of them by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, that the way, by which they entered, should appear to them. (And thou wast their leader by a pillar of cloud in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night, so that the way by which they should go, was clear to them.)
13 Also thou camest down at the hill of Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and thou gavest to them rightful dooms, and the law of truth, ceremonies, and good commandments. (And thou camest down upon Mount Sinai, and spokest with them from heaven, and thou gavest them right judgements, and true laws, and good statutes, and commandments.)
14 And thou showedest to them an hallowed sabbath; and thou commandedest to them commandments, and ceremonies, and law, in the hand of Moses, thy servant. (And thou toldest them of thy holy Sabbath; and thou commandedest to them commandments, and statutes, and laws, through thy servant Moses.)
15 And thou gavest to them bread from heaven in their hunger; and thou leddest out of the stone water to them (who were) thirsting; and thou saidest to them, that they should enter, and have in possession the land, upon the which land thou raisedest up thine hand, that thou shouldest give it to them. (And thou gavest them bread, or manna, from heaven for their hunger; and thou leddest out water from the stone for those who were thirsting; and thou saidest to them, that they should go in, and take possession of the land, on which land thou raisedest up thy hand, and swore, that thou would give it to them.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.