Revised Literal Translation
Nehemiah 1:5
5And said, I beseech thee, O Yhwh God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
Nehemiah 1:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
- New International Version (NIV)Then I said: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
- English Standard Version (ESV)And I said, "O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
- New King James Version (NKJV)And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,
Context of Nehemiah 1:5
3And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, And said, I beseech thee, O Yhwh God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 6Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. 7We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
Read all of Nehemiah 1Nehemiah 1:5 word by word
וָאֹמַ֗ר אָֽנָּ֤א יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם הָאֵ֥ל הַגָּד֖וֹל וְהַנּוֹרָ֑א שֹׁמֵ֤ר הַבְּרִית֙ וָחֶ֔סֶד לְאֹהֲבָ֖יו וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י מִצְוֹתָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
- And saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- I beseechאָֽנָּ֫א'ân'â 'ânnâh · Please!H577
- thee, O Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- the greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- and terribleיָרֵאyârê' · to fear: revereH3372
- Godאֵל'êl · GodH410
- that keepethשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
- covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
- and mercyחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
- for them that loveאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
- his commandmentsמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
Cross-references for Nehemiah 1:5
- Nehemiah 4:14And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
- Deuteronomy 7:21Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for Yhwh thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.
- 1 Chronicles 17:21And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?
- Psalms 47:2For Yhwh most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
- Daniel 9:4And I prayed unto Yhwh my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
- Exodus 20:6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
- Deuteronomy 7:9Know therefore that Yhwh thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
- 1 Kings 8:23And he said, Yhwh God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
- Hebrews 6:13For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Commentaries on Nehemiah 1:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Lord God of heaven - What was, before the captivity, Jehovah, God of hosts or armies. Great - Able to do mighty things. Terrible - able to inflict the heaviest judgments.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-11Nehemiah’s prayer includes: Praise (Nehemiah 1:5) Confession (Nehemiah 1:6–7) Remembering God’s promises (Nehemiah 1:8–9) A request (Nehemiah 1:10–11) Nehemiah understood that Israel’s situation was not due to God failing His covenant of unfailing love. Instead, Israel’s ongoing sin led to the punishments described in the covenant.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-114. when I heard these words, that I sat down ... and mourned ... and fasted, and prayed--The recital deeply affected the patriotic feelings of this good man, and no comfort could he find but in earnest and protracted prayer, that God would favor the purpose, which he seems to have secretly formed, of asking the royal permission to go to Jerusalem.Read the comment
Topics related to Nehemiah 1:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Nehemiah 1
- 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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries