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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws.

Context of Nehemiah 9:34

32“Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty and awesome, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come on us, on our kings and leaders, on our priests and prophets, on our ancestors and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. 33In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly. 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. 35Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways. 36“But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces.

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 29:19For they have not listened to my words,” declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.
• Nehemiah 9:30For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
• 2 Kings 17:15They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”
• Deuteronomy 31:21And when many disasters and calamities come on them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.”
• 2 Kings 17:13The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered 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