Nehemiah 1:7
What does Nehemiah 1:7 mean?
A plain-English look at Nehemiah 1:7 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nehemiah 1:7 means
The confession becomes explicit: “we have dealt very corruptly” against God by not keeping His commandments, statutes, and ordinances commanded through Moses. Nehemiah claims no partial obedience as cover; the failure is comprehensive—moral, ceremonial, and judicial. He recognizes that their present condition flows from this covenant breach. The words echo the Mosaic covenant’s categories, showing that Nehemiah measures Israel by God’s revealed will, not by neighboring standards. Confession agrees with God’s assessment and owns the depth of the wrong. Only when the sin is faced in its true dimensions can the plea for mercy be sincere. This verse acknowledges God’s justice in their scattering and prepares the way to recall His promises.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
KJV
King James Version · 1611We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949We have done great wrong against you, and have not kept the orders, the rules, and the decisions, which you gave to your servant Moses.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862we have acted very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commands, and the statutes, and the judgments, that Thou didst command Moses Thy servant.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752We have been seduced by vanity, and have not kept thy commandments, and ceremonies and judgments, which thou hast commanded thy servant Moses.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890We have acted very perversely against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances that thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
Context
Verse 7 elaborates the confession introduced in verse 6, naming disobedience to Moses’ commandments, statutes, and ordinances. This lays the groundwork for the next move in verses 8–9, where Nehemiah appeals to what God said would follow disobedience and repentance. The flow is deliberate: sin admitted, justice affirmed, promise remembered. Without this candor, the coming appeal to restoration could seem presumptuous. The reader is readied to hear covenant terms invoked rightly, not as entitlement but as hope conditioned on returning to God.
v.6let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father’s house have sinned:
v.7This passage
v.8Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples:
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 2 Chronicles 25:4
But he put not their children to death, but did according to that which is written in the law in the book of Moses, as Jehovah commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.
- Deuteronomy 4:1
And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah, the God of your fathers, giveth you.
- Daniel 9:11
Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even turning aside, that they should not obey thy voice: therefore hath the curse been poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God; for we have sinned against him.
- Psalms 119:5
Oh that my ways were established To observe thy statutes!
- Revelation 19:2
for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
- Ezra 7:6
this Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him.
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