Nehemiah 9

Nehemiah · Chapter 9

Nehemiah 9:23

1Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.2And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.3And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.4Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God.5Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.6Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.7Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham;8And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous:9And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;10And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.11And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.12Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.13Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:14And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:15And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.16But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,17And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.18Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;19Yet 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.20Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.21Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.22Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.23Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.24So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.25And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.26Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.27Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.28But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;29And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.30Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.31Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.32Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.33Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:34Neither 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.35For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.36Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:37And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.38And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
23Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land concerning which thou didst say to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and children theirוּבְנֵיהֶ֣םu-ve-nei-HEMH1121A
son: child

בֵּן (ben) : child/son

you increasedהִרְבִּ֔יתָhir-BI-taH7235A
to multiply

רָבָה (ra.vah) 1) be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to become many, become numerous, multiply (of people, animals, things) 1a2) to be or grow great 1b) (Piel) to make large, enlarge, increase, become many 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to make much, make many, have many 1c1a) to multiply, increase 1c1b) to make much to do, do much in respect of, transgress greatly 1c1c) to increase greatly or exceedingly 1c2) to make great, enlarge, do much Aramaic equivalent: re.vah (רְבָה "to grow great" H7236)

like [the] stars ofכְּכֹכְבֵ֖יke-cho-khe-VEIH3556
star

כּוֹכָב (ko.khav) 1) star 1a) of Messiah, brothers, youth, numerous progeny, personification, God's omniscience (fig.)

the heavensהַשָּׁמָ֑יִםha-sha-MA-yimH8064
heaven

שָׁמַיִם (sha.ma.yim) 1) heaven, heavens, sky 1a) visible heavens, sky 1a1) as abode of the stars 1a2) as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc 1b) Heaven (as the abode of God) Aramaic equivalent: sha.ma.yin (שָׁמַ֫יִן "heaven" H8065)

and you brought themוַתְּבִיאֵם֙va-te-vi-'EMH0935P
to come (in): come

בּוֹא (bo) : come/go_in 1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to enter, come in 1a2) to come 1a2a) to come with 1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy) 1a2c) to come to pass 1a3) to attain to 1a4) to be enumerated 1a5) to go 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to lead in 1b2) to carry in 1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon 1b4) to bring to pass 1c) (Hophal) 1c1) to be brought, brought in 1c2) to be introduced, be put

intoאֶל־'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

the landהָאָ֔רֶץha-'A-retzH0776G
land: country/planet

אֶ֫רֶץ (e.rets) : country/field 1) land, earth 1a) earth 1a1) whole earth (as opposed to a part) 1a2) earth (as opposed to heaven) 1a3) earth (inhabitants) 1b) land 1b1) country, territory 1b2) district, region 1b3) tribal territory 1b4) piece of ground 1b5) land of Canaan, Israel 1b6) inhabitants of land 1b7) Sheol, land without return, (under) world 1b8) city (-state) 1c) ground, surface of the earth 1c1) ground 1c2) soil 1d) (in phrases) 1d1) people of the land 1d2) space or distance of country (in measurements of distance) 1d3) level or plain country 1d4) land of the living 1d5) end(s) of the earth …

whichאֲשֶׁר־'a-SHER-H0834A
which

אֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when

you had saidאָמַ֥רְתָּ'a-MAR-taH0559
to say

אָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)

to ancestors theirלַאֲבֹתֵיהֶ֖םla-'a-vo-tei-HEMH0001G
father

אָב (av) 1) father of an individual 2) of God as father of his people 3) head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan 4) ancestor 4a) grandfather, forefathers - of person 4b) of people 5) originator or patron of a class, profession, or art 6) of producer, generator (fig.) 7) of benevolence and protection (fig.) 8) term of respect and honour 9) ruler or chief (spec.) Also means: av (אַב "father" H0002)

to goלָב֥וֹאla-VO'H0935G
to come (in): come

בּוֹא (bo) : come/go_in 1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to enter, come in 1a2) to come 1a2a) to come with 1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy) 1a2c) to come to pass 1a3) to attain to 1a4) to be enumerated 1a5) to go 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to lead in 1b2) to carry in 1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon 1b4) to bring to pass 1c) (Hophal) 1c1) to be brought, brought in 1c2) to be introduced, be put

to take possession ofלָרָֽשֶׁת׃la-RA-shetH3423H
to possess: possess

יָרַשׁ (ya.rash) : possess/inherit 1) to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to take possession of 1a2) to inherit 1a3) to impoverish, come to poverty, be poor 1b) (Niphal) to be dispossessed, be impoverished, come to poverty 1c) (Piel) to devour 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cause to possess or inherit 1d2) to cause others to possess or inherit 1d3) to impoverish 1d4) to dispossess 1d5) to destroy, bring to ruin, disinherit

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.