Nehemiah 9:34

Nehemiah 9:34 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our ancestors did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, With which You testified against them.

Context of Nehemiah 9:34

32And now, our God, you are the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God. You faithfully keep your promises. Do not consider all the hardships that we have been going through as unimportant. The hardships have come to our kings, leaders, priests, prophets, ancestors, and all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria until now. 33But you were fair about everything that has happened to us. You have been faithful, but we have been wicked. Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors didn’t obey your teachings. They didn’t pay attention to your commandments or the warnings that you gave them. 35When they lived in their own kingdom and enjoyed the many good things that you gave them in a vast, fertile land which was set in front of them, they didn’t serve you or turn away from their wicked lives. 36Look ⌞at us⌟ now. We’re slaves! In the land you gave our ancestors, they could eat its produce and ⌞enjoy⌟ its good things. But now we’re slaves!

Nehemiah 9:34 word by word

וְאֶת־מְלָכֵ֤ינוּ שָׂרֵ֙ינוּ֙ כֹּהֲנֵ֣ינוּ וַאֲבֹתֵ֔ינוּ לֹ֥א עָשׂ֖וּ תּוֹרָתֶ֑ךָ וְלֹ֤א הִקְשִׁ֙יבוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֹתֶ֔יךָ וּלְעֵ֣דְוֹתֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַעִידֹ֖תָ בָּהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Neither have our kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• our princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• our priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• nor our fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• keptעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• thy lawתּוֹרָהtôrâh tôrâh · instructionH8451
• nor hearkenedקָשַׁבqâshab · to listenH7181
• unto thy commandmentsמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
• and thy testimoniesעֵדוּת‛êdûth · testimonyH5715
• wherewith thou didst testifyעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749

Cross-references for Nehemiah 9:34

• Jeremiah 29:19They didn’t listen to me, declares the Lord. I sent them my servants the prophets again and again, but they refused to listen, declares the Lord.
• Nehemiah 9:30You were patient with them for many years. You warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. However, they wouldn’t listen. So you handed them over to the people in the surrounding nations.
• 2 Kings 17:15They rejected his decrees, the promise he made to their ancestors, and the warnings he had given them. They went after worthless idols and became as worthless as the idols. They behaved like the nations around them, although the Lord had commanded them not to do that.
• Deuteronomy 31:21When many terrible disasters happen to them, this song will testify against them, because it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know what their hearts are set on doing, even now before I bring them into the land that I swore to give them.”
• 2 Kings 17:13The Lord had warned Israel and Judah through every kind of prophet and seer, “Turn from your evil ways, and obey my commands and decrees as I commanded your ancestors in all my teachings, the commands I sent to you through my servants the prophets.”

Commentaries on Nehemiah 9:34

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 34Neither have our kings - In this verse he acknowledges that the kings, princes, priests, and fathers, had broken the law: but the prophets are left out; for they continued faithful to God, testifying by his Spirit against the crimes of all; and this even at the risk of their lives.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-38Verses 4-38 The summary of their prayers we have here upon record. Much more, no doubt, was said. Whatever ability we have to do any thing in the way of duty, we are to serve and glorify God according to the utmost of it. When confessing our sins, it is good to notice the mercies of God, that we may be the more humbled and ashamed. The dealings of the Lord showed his goodness and long-suffering, and the hardness of their hearts. The testimony of the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 32-37The prayer now addresses the current situation, asking the great God—who has unfailing love—for ongoing love and mercy for his people in their difficult times (Nehemiah 9:32). The leaders acknowledged God's justice in punishing them for their sins (Nehemiah 9:33–35), and they expressed sorrow over their enslavement by the Persians (9:36–37).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-386-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate His mercies and distinguished favors to them as a nation, from the…Read the comment

Topics related to Nehemiah 9:34

• Idolatry
• Prayer
• Repentance
• Rulers
• Sin
• Thankfulness

In the dictionaries

• Covenant
• Divide
• Gracious
• Mighty
• Neck
• Sure
• Intercession
• Israel, History of
• Leviticus
• Prayer

Commentaries on Nehemiah 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings