Nehemiah 9:16

16 `And they and our fathers have acted proudly, and harden their neck, and have not hearkened unto Thy commands,

Nehemiah 9:16 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 9:16

But they and our fathers dealt proudly
Behaved in a haughty manner towards God, their kind benefactor:

and hardened their necks;
refused to take the yoke of his law, as refractory oxen, that withdraw their necks from the yoke:

and hearkened not to thy commandments;
to do them, though they promised they would, ( Exodus 24:7 ) .

Nehemiah 9:16 In-Context

14 And Thy holy sabbath Thou hast made known to them, and commands, and statutes, and law, Thou hast commanded for them, by the hand of Moses Thy servant;
15 and bread from the heavens Thou hast given to them for their hunger, and water from a rock hast brought out to them for their thirst, and dost say to them to go in to possess the land that Thou hast lifted up Thy hand to give to them.
16 `And they and our fathers have acted proudly, and harden their neck, and have not hearkened unto Thy commands,
17 yea, they refuse to hearken, and have not remembered Thy wonders that Thou hast done with them, and harden their neck and appoint a head, to turn back to their service, in their rebellion; and Thou [art] a God of pardons, gracious, and merciful, long-suffering, and abundant in kindness, and hast not forsaken them.
18 `Also, when they have made to themselves a molten calf, and say, this [is] thy god that brought thee up out of Egypt, and do great despisings,
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.