Nehemiah 1:6

6 Please, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying before you by day and by night for your servants, the {Israelites},^[a] and confessing the sins of the {Israelites}^[b] that we have sinned against you. 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 and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.

5 I said, "O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and awesome one who keeps the covenant and loyal love for the ones who love him and for those who keep his commands.

6 Please, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying before you by day and by night for your servants, the {Israelites}, and confessing the sins of the {Israelites} that we have sinned against you. I and my father's house have sinned.

7 We have certainly offended you and have not kept the commands, regulations, and judgments that you have commanded your servant Moses.

8 Please, remember the word that you have commanded to your servant Moses, saying, 'If you act unfaithfully I will scatter you all among the nations.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [b] Literally "sons/children of Israel"