Nehemiah 9:25
What does Nehemiah 9:25 mean?
A plain-English look at Nehemiah 9:25 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Nehemiah 9:25 means
Israel inherited fortified cities, a fertile land, fully stocked houses, cisterns, vineyards, oliveyards, and abundant fruit trees. They ate, were filled, “became fat,” and delighted themselves in God’s great goodness. The verse paints a picture of unearned prosperity: they reaped where they had not sown. This abundance is explicitly attributed to God’s kindness, not their merit. Such blessing calls for gratitude and faithful obedience. Yet history shows that prosperity can dull spiritual sensitivity. The fullness described here will be followed by rebellion, warning that gifts, when detached from the Giver, can become snares. God’s generosity is meant to lead to worship, not self-indulgence.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, 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.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And 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.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, 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.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And they took walled towns and a fat land, and became the owners of houses full of all good things, water-holes cut in the rock, vine-gardens and olive-gardens and a wealth of fruit-trees: so they had food enough and became fat, and had joy in the good you gave them.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And they capture fenced cities, and fat ground, and possess houses full of all good, digged-wells, vineyards, and olive-yards, and fruit-trees in abundance, and they eat, and are satisfied, and become fat, and delight themselves in Thy great goodness.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods: cisterns made by others, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: and they ate, and were filled, and became fat, and abounded with delight in thy great goodness.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, wells digged, vineyards and olive-gardens, and fruit trees in abundance. And they did eat and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
Context
The prayer reaches the crest of blessing—material fullness and joy. But the very next verse records disobedience and rebellion against God, including rejection of His Law and violence against His prophets. This sharp transition is deliberate, teaching that external success without internal faithfulness breeds spiritual disaster and invites divine discipline.
v.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 peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
v.25This passage
v.26Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and slew thy prophets that testified against them to turn them again unto thee, and they wrought great provocations.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Deuteronomy 9:1
Hear, O Israel: thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to heaven,
- Deuteronomy 32:15
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek; Then he forsook God who made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
- Isaiah 6:10
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.
- Deuteronomy 32:13
He made him ride on the high places of the earth, And he did eat the increase of the field; And he made him to suck honey out of the rock, And oil out of the flinty rock;
- Deuteronomy 6:10
And it shall be, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee, great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not,
- Deuteronomy 3:5
All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides the unwalled towns a great many.
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