Nehemiah 10:29
What does Nehemiah 10:29 mean?
A plain-English look at Nehemiah 10:29 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nehemiah 10:29 means
They cling to their nobles and enter both a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law given through Moses. This means they willingly accept consequences for disobedience and blessings for obedience, binding themselves to do “all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes.” It is a sober, communal pledge to regular, concrete obedience, not a vague aspiration. By invoking a curse, they confess that God’s law is not negotiable; faithfulness matters for their life as God’s people.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000they clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
KJV
King James Version · 1611They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901they clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949They were united with their brothers, their rulers, and put themselves under a curse and an oath, to keep their steps in the way of God's law, which was given by Moses, the servant of God, and to keep and do all the orders of the Lord, our Lord, and his decisions and his rules;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862are laying hold on their brethren, their honourable ones, and coming in to an execration, and in to an oath, to walk in the law of God, that was given by the hand of Moses, servant of God, and to observe and to do all the commands of Jehovah our Lord, and His judgments, and His statutes;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752All that could understand, promising for their brethren, with their chief men, and they came to promise, and swear that they would walk in the law of God, which he gave in the hand of Moses the servant of God, that they would do and keep all the commandments of the Lord our God, and his judgments and his ceremonies.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and into an oath, to walk in the law ofGod, which had been given by Moses the servant ofGod, and to keep and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
Context
Having gathered all the people, the chapter now states the formal nature of the commitment. The covenant is not merely enthusiastic agreement but a sworn oath with covenantal sanctions. This frames the specific vows that follow about marriages, Sabbath commerce, sabbatical years, and temple support as serious obligations. The reader sees that the coming details are embraced under solemn accountability to God.
v.28And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and all they that had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one that had knowledge, and understanding;
v.29This passage
v.30and that we would not give our daughters unto the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons;
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Jeremiah 26:4
And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
- Nehemiah 5:12
Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do, even as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they would do according to this promise.
- Psalms 105:45
That they might keep his statutes, And observe his laws. Praise ye Jehovah.
- Deuteronomy 33:4
Moses commanded us a law, An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
- Nehemiah 13:25
And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves.
- Acts 17:34
But certain men clave unto him, and believed: among whom also was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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