New International Version
Nehemiah 9:19
19“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take.
Nehemiah 9:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
- English Standard Version (ESV)you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night.
Context of Nehemiah 9:19
17They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, 18even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies. “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. 21For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.
Read all of Nehemiah 9Nehemiah 9:19 word by word
וְאַתָּה֙ בְּרַחֲמֶ֣יךָ הָֽרַבִּ֔ים לֹ֥א עֲזַבְתָּ֖ם בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר אֶת־עַמּ֣וּד הֶ֠עָנָן לֹא־סָ֨ר מֵעֲלֵיהֶ֤ם בְּיוֹמָם֙ לְהַנְחֹתָ֣ם בְּהַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וְאֶת־עַמּ֨וּד הָאֵ֤שׁ בְּלַ֙יְלָה֙ לְהָאִ֣יר לָהֶ֔ם וְאֶת־הַדֶּ֖רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֵֽלְכוּ־בָֽהּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Yet thou in thy manifoldרַבrab · manyH7227
- merciesרַחֲמִיםracham · compassionH7356
- forsookestעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- them not in the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- the pillarעַמּוּד‛ammûd ‛ammûd · pillarH5982
- of the cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
- departedסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: departH5493
- not from them by dayיוֹמָםyômâm · by dayH3119
- to leadנָחָהnâchâh · to leadH5148
- them in the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
- of fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- to shew them lightאוֹר'ôr · to lightH215
- wherein they should goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
Cross-references for Nehemiah 9:19
- Nehemiah 9:27So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.
- 1 Samuel 12:22For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.
- Psalms 106:7When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.
- Isaiah 44:21“Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you.
- Lamentations 3:22Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
- Ezekiel 20:14But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
- Daniel 9:9The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;
- Malachi 3:6“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
- Nehemiah 9:12By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.
- Exodus 13:21By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
- Exodus 40:38So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
- Numbers 9:15On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
- Numbers 14:14And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord, are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
- Isaiah 4:5Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy.
- 1 Corinthians 10:1For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.
Commentaries on Nehemiah 9:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19The pillar of the cloud departed not from them - מעליהם mealeyhem, "from over them." I have already had occasion to observe that this miraculous cloud, the symbol of the Divine presence, assumed three different positions while accompanying the Israelitish camp: As a cloud in the form of a pillar, it went before them when they journey, to point out their way in the wilderness. As a pillar of fire, it continued with them during the night, to give them…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. 12-21This prayer reminded the people of God's miraculous guidance of Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21–22), his personal appearance at Mount Sinai to reveal his covenant laws through Moses (see Exodus 19–20), and his faithfulness in providing bread and water (see Exodus 16:4; 17:1–6). Despite all of that, Israel's ancestors were proud and stubborn and refused to obey (see Exodus 32; Numbers 14:4). Yet in his grace, God remained faithful and compassionate…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 9:19
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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