Nehemiah 1:6

6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive to hear Your servant's prayer that I now pray to You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins^[a] we have committed against You. Both I and my father's house have sinned.

Nehemiah 1:6 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 1:6

Let thine ear be now attentive
To his prayer, as in ( Nehemiah 1:11 ) ,

and thine eyes open;
to behold with pity and compassion the distressed case of Jerusalem, and the Jews in it:

I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy
servants;
this he had continued to do ever since he heard of their trouble and calamity:

and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned
against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned;
he considered sin as the cause of all this evil that had befallen his people, and confesses it with sorrow and humiliation, and not their sins only, but his own personal and family sins.

Nehemiah 1:6 In-Context

4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

5 I said, Lord God of heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commands,

6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive to hear Your servant's prayer that I now pray to You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins we have committed against You. Both I and my father's house have sinned.

7 We have acted corruptly toward You and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances You gave Your servant Moses.

8 Please remember what You commanded Your servant Moses: "[If] you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit sins of the Israelites