New English Translation
Nehemiah 9:34
34Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them.
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
32“So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity – do not regard as inconsequential all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day! 33You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. It is we who have been in the wrong! Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them. 35Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible goodness that you had lavished on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices. 36“So today we are slaves! In the very land you gave to our ancestors to eat its fruit and to enjoy its good things – we are slaves!
Read all of Nehemiah 9Nehemiah 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 29:19For they have not paid attention to what I said to them through my servants the prophets whom I sent to them over and over again,’ says the Lord. ‘And you exiles have not paid any attention to them either,’ says the Lord.
- Nehemiah 9:30You prolonged your kindness with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
- 2 Kings 17:15They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.
- Deuteronomy 31:21Then when many disasters and distresses overcome them this song will testify against them, for their descendants will not forget it. I know the intentions they have in mind today, even before I bring them to the land I have promised.”
- 2 Kings 17:13The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.”
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
In the dictionaries
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
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