Neh 9:32-37 | KD | STEP | May then, God, who keepeth covenant and mercy, now also look upon the affliction of His people, though kings, rulers, priests, and people have fully deserved this punishment; for they are now bondmen, and in great affliction, in the land of their fathers. “And now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble that hath come upon us, on our kings, our princes our priests, our prophets, and our fathers, and on all Thy people, since the times of the kings of Assyria unto this day, seem little to Thee. Thou art just in all that is come upon us; for Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. And our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Thy law, nor hearkened to Thy commandments and Thy testimonies, wherewith Thou didst testify against them. And 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 up to them, and have not turned from their wicked works. Behold, we are now bondmen; and the land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are bondmen in it. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom Thou hast set over us because of our sins; and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.” The invocation of God, , like that in , is similar to Deu 10:17. לפניך ימעט אל stands independently, the following clause being emphasized by את, like e.g., : Let not what concerns all our trouble be little before Thee; comp. the similar construction with מעט in Jos 22:17. What seems little is easily disregarded. The prayer is a litotes ; and the sense is, Let our affliction be regarded by Thee as great and heavy. The nouns למלכינוּ, etc., are in apposition to the suffix of מצאתנוּ, the object being continued by ל.

‏ Nehemiah 9:32-37

May then, God, who keepeth covenant and mercy, now also look upon the affliction of His people, though kings, rulers, priests, and people have fully deserved this punishment; for they are now bondmen, and in great affliction, in the land of their fathers. Neh 9:32 “And now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble that hath come upon us, on our kings, our princes our priests, our prophets, and our fathers, and on all Thy people, since the times of the kings of Assyria unto this day, seem little to Thee. Neh 9:33 Thou art just in all that is come upon us; for Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Neh 9:34 And our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Thy law, nor hearkened to Thy commandments and Thy testimonies, wherewith Thou didst testify against them. Neh 9:35 And 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 up to them, and have not turned from their wicked works. Neh 9:36 Behold, we are now bondmen; and the land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are bondmen in it. Neh 9:37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom Thou hast set over us because of our sins; and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.” The invocation of God, Neh 9:32, like that in Neh 1:5, is similar to Deu 10:17. לפניך ימעט אל stands independently, the following clause being emphasized by את, like e.g., Neh 9:19 : Let not what concerns all our trouble be little before Thee; comp. the similar construction with מעט in Jos 22:17. What seems little is easily disregarded. The prayer is a litotes; and the sense is, Let our affliction be regarded by Thee as great and heavy. The nouns למלכינוּ, etc., are in apposition to the suffix of מצאתנוּ, the object being continued by ל. Neh 9:33-34

Thou art just: comp. Neh 9:8, Deu 32:4; Ezr 9:15. כּל על, upon all, i.e., concerning all that has befallen us; because their sins deserved punishment, and God is only fulfilling His word upon the sinners. In Neh 9:34, את again serves to emphasize the subject. In the enumeration of the different classes of the people, the prophets are here omitted, because, as God’s witnesses, they are not reckoned among these who had transgressed, though involved (Neh 9:32) in the sufferings that have fallen on the nation. Neh 9:35 (10:1) הם are the fathers who were not brought to repentance by God’s goodness. בּמלכוּתם, in their independent kingdom. הרב טוּבך, Thy much good, i.e., the fulness of Thy goodness, or “in the midst of Thy great blessing” (Bertheau). The predicate הרחבה, the wide, extensive country, is derived from Exo 3:8. In Neh 9:36., the prayer that God would not lightly regard the trouble of His people, is supported by a statement of the need and affliction in which they still are. They are bondmen in the land which God gave to their fathers as a free people, bondmen of the Persian monarchs; and the increase of the land which God appointed for His people belongs to the kings who rule over them. The rulers of the land dispose of their bodies and their cattle, by carrying off both men and cattle for their use, e.g., for military service. כּרצונם like Neh 9:24.