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Nehemiah 9

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The Day of Confession and Separation 1–4

1
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them. ​
2
And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. ​
3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day; andanotherfourth part they confessed, and worshipped Jehovah their God. ​
4
Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto Jehovah their God.

Invocation and Praise to the Creator 5–8

5
Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless Jehovah your God from everlasting to everlasting; and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. ​
6
Thou art Jehovah, even thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. ​
7
Thou art Jehovah the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham, ​
8
and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it unto his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous. ​

God's Deliverance in the Exodus 9–15

9
And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea, ​
10
and showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land; for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them, and didst get thee a name, as it is this day.
11
And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers thou didst cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
12
Moreover in a pillar of cloud thou leddest them by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.
13
Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, ​
14
and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by Moses thy servant,
15
and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commandedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

Israel's Rebellion in the Wilderness 16–21

16
But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not to thy commandments, ​
17
and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and forsookest them not. ​
18
Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
19
yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go.
20
Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. ​
21
Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

Conquest, Prosperity, and Disobedience 22–31

22
Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and peoples, which thou didst allot after their portions: so they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. ​
23
Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land concerning which thou didst say to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
24
So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
25
And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit-trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. ​
26
Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and slew thy prophets that testified against them to turn them again unto thee, and they wrought great provocations. ​
27
Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries.
28
But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee; therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies,
29
and testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law. Yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thine ordinances (which if a man do, he shall live in them), and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. ​
30
Yet many years didst thou bear with them, and testifiedst against them by thy Spirit through thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31
Nevertheless in thy manifold mercies thou didst not make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. ​

Acknowledging God's Justice and Making a Sure Covenant 32–38

32
Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and lovingkindness, let not all the travail seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. ​
33
Howbeit thou art just in all that is come upon us; for thou hast dealt truly, but we have done wickedly; ​
34
neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies wherewith thou didst testify against them.
35
For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
36
Behold, we are servants this day, and as for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. ​
37
And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
38
And yet for all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal unto it. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Nehemiah 9

Verse 1

fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them — The assembly follows the feast of the seventh month and its solemn assembly on the eighth day (Neh 8:14–18). Sackcloth (saq) and earth are a mourner's dress, as with the man of Benjamin who came to Shiloh 'with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head' (1 Sam 4:12). Here it is worn for sin, as the confession of v.2 shows.

Verse 2

separated themselves from all strangers — 'Strangers' (nekar) are foreigners, and the verb badal is the one used in Neh 13:3, where hearing the law led them to 'separated from Israel all the mixed multitude'. Confessing 'their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers' is the confession Lev 26:40 describes: 'If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers'.

Verse 3

one fourth part of the day — A fourth of the day goes to reading 'in the book of the law of the LORD their God', and another fourth to confessing and worshipping. As at the first reading, which ran 'from the morning until midday' (Neh 8:3), the people 'stood in their place' (Neh 8:7). 'Worshipped' is shachah, to bow down.

Verse 5

blessed be thy glorious name — 'Bless' is barak, the Levites' call to the people to stand. The words echo David's at the gathering of gifts for the house of God: 'Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever… we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name' (1 Chr 29:10, 13). The name is 'exalted above all blessing and praise' that creatures can give.

Verse 6

Thou, even thou, art LORD alone — The prayer begins with creation: 'the heaven of heavens' (Deut 10:14), 'all their host', the earth and the seas. 'Preservest' is chayah, to give life, so the Maker is also the one who keeps all things alive. The host of heaven that 'worshippeth thee' is called to praise in Ps 148:2–5: 'all his angels… all his hosts… sun and moon'.

Verse 7

didst choose Abram — Bachar is the verb of choosing, and the LORD's own words in Gen 15:7 are behind it: 'I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees'. Ur of the Chaldees is named only in Gen 11:28, 11:31, 15:7 and here. The new name Abraham, 'a father of many nations' (Gen 17:5), was given by the LORD.

Verse 8

foundest his heart faithful — 'Faithful' is aman, the verb of Gen 15:6, 'he believed in the LORD'. The covenant names six of the ten peoples listed in Gen 15:19–21. 'Hast performed thy words' recalls 'There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken… all came to pass' (Josh 21:45), and it is the ground of 'thou art righteous'.

Verse 9

the affliction of our fathers — 'Didst see… heardest' repeats the LORD's words at the bush: 'I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry' (Ex 3:7), which Stephen quotes in Acts 7:34. 'Affliction' is oni. The cry 'by the Red sea' is that of Ex 14:10, when 'the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD'.

Verse 13

Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai — The LORD had said 'the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai' (Ex 19:11) and 'Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven' (Ex 20:22). Four terms for the law follow: 'judgments' (mishpat), 'laws' (torah), 'statutes' (choq) and 'commandments' (mitzvah), called right, true and good.

Verse 16

dealt proudly, and hardened their necks — 'Dealt proudly' is zid, the verb used of Egypt in v.10, where Pharaoh's people 'dealt proudly against them'. Here it describes the fathers of Israel, and again in v.29. 'Hardened their necks' is the 'stiffnecked people' of Ex 32:9.

Verse 17

ready to pardon — Selichah, forgiveness (plural here and in Dan 9:9), occurs only here, in Ps 130:4 and in Dan 9:9. 'Gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness' (chesed) is the LORD's own proclamation of his name (Ex 34:6). The 'captain' recalls Num 14:4, 'Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.'

Verse 20

thy good spirit — The LORD gave the Spirit 'to instruct' (sakal, to give insight), as Moses' spirit was shared with the seventy elders (Num 11:17), and withheld neither manna nor water. Verse 30 returns to the Spirit's work: 'testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets'. David prays 'thy spirit is good' (Ps 143:10).

Verse 22

Sihon… Og king of Bashan — These are the two kings Israel defeated under Moses (Num 21:21–35). Heshbon was 'the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites' (Num 21:26), and Ps 136:19–20 sings of Sihon and Og as well. 'Corners' is pe'ah, a side or quarter, so the nations were shared out region by region.

Verse 25

a fat land — 'Fat' (shamen) is the land's richness, repeated in v.35, 'the large and fat land'. The houses, wells, vineyards and olive trees are those Moses had promised: 'houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not' (Deut 6:11). 'Became fat' is the verb of Deut 32:15, 'Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked'.

Verse 26

cast thy law behind their backs — The charge to Jeroboam was the same, 'hast cast me behind thy back' (1 Kgs 14:9). The prophets 'testified' (ud) 'to turn them to thee', using shub, the verb v.17 had applied to the wish 'to return to their bondage'. Elijah says 'slain thy prophets with the sword' (1 Kgs 19:10), and Christ names Jerusalem 'that killest the prophets' (Matt 23:37).

Verse 29

which if a man do, he shall live in them — These are the words of Lev 18:5, which Paul cites as the law's own terms (Rom 10:5). 'Testifiedst' (ud) and 'bring them again' (shub) repeat v.26. 'Withdrew the shoulder' is literally 'gave a stubborn shoulder', as in Zech 7:11, 'pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears'.

Verse 31

thou didst not utterly consume them — 'Utterly consume' is kalah, to make an end, the 'full end' of Jer 4:27, 'yet will I not make a full end'. 'Mercies' is rachamim, compassions. 'Gracious and merciful' repeats Ex 34:6, as in v.17, and Lam 3:22 gives the same reason: 'his compassions fail not'.

Verse 32

the great, the mighty, and the terrible God — The titles come from Deut 10:17, 'a great God, a mighty, and a terrible'. Nehemiah used them at the start of his own prayer (Neh 1:5), and Daniel's prayer opens with a form of them (Dan 9:4). 'Who keepest covenant and mercy' is Deut 7:9. The trouble is counted from 'the kings of Assyria', who carried Israel away (2 Kgs 17:6).

Verse 33

thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly — 'Done right' is literally 'done truth' (emeth), set beside 'done wickedly' (rasha). The confession gives God the verdict, as in David's 'that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest' (Ps 51:4). 'We have done wickedly' is also the confession of Dan 9:5.

Verse 36

we are servants this day — 'Servants' ('ebed) is said twice, 'for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers'. Moses had said that 'a nation which thou knowest not' would eat the fruit of the land (Deut 28:33) and that Israel would 'serve thine enemies' (Deut 28:48). Ezra 9:9 adds, 'our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage'.

Verse 38

we make a sure covenant — 'Sure' is amanah, a firm arrangement, found only here and in Neh 11:23 ('a certain portion' for the singers). The written covenant is sealed in chapter 10: Nehemiah the Tirshatha first (10:1), then the princes, Levites and priests of this verse, and the people who 'entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law' (10:29).