Nehemiah 9:11
in Nehemiah 9You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers thou didst cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in Nehemiah 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
at the Red Sea
on Nehemiah 9:9-11
Three verses retell the exodus in the order Exodus gives it: the cry heard "at the Red Sea" and the "signs and wonders against Pharaoh". Gill ties each clause to its source, the cry of Exodus 14:10, the pride of Exodus 18:11, the crossing of Exodus 14:21.
This site's exposition
You divided the sea before them
The wording draws on the song of Exodus 15, where the horse and rider are thrown into the sea at 15:1. The pursuers sink like lead in the mighty waters at 15:10. The prayer borrows the song Israel sang on the far shore.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the L ORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the L ORD their God.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v2-3
11 ), and so got himself a name; for he said, I will get me honour upon Pharaoh. Even to this day the name of God is glorified for that wonderful work. It was done miraculously: signs and wonders were shown for the effecting of it; their deliverance was the destruction of their enemies; they were thrown into the deeps, as irrecoverably as a stone into the mighty waters.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land,.... That is, the Israelites, see Exo 14:21, and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps; with great ease, and with indignation, meaning the Egyptians, that pursued hotly after them, and were thrown into the sea: as a stone into the mighty waters; where they sunk and perished, see Exo 15:4.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַיָּם֙ | vehaiyam | and the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| בָּקַ֣עְתָּ | baka'ta | you split open | H1234 → | |
| לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם | lifneihem | <to> before them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיַּֽעַבְר֥וּ | vaiyaavru | and they passed | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בְתוֹךְ־ | vetokh- | in [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַיָּ֖ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| בַּיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה | baiyabashah | on the dry ground | H3004 → | |
| וְֽאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רֹ֨דְפֵיהֶ֜ם | rodefeihem | pursuers their | H7291 → | |
| הִשְׁלַ֧כְתָּ | hishlakhta | you threw | H7993 → | 125 times |
| בִמְצוֹלֹ֛ת | vimtzolot | in [the] depths | H4688 → | |
| כְּמוֹ־ | kemov- | like | H3644 → | 143 times |
| אֶ֖בֶן | ʾeven | a stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| בְּמַ֥יִם | bemayim | in waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| עַזִּֽים׃ | ʾazim | mighty | H5794 → |
וְהַיָּם֙and the sea
vehaiyamH3220 →396 times
בָּקַ֣עְתָּyou split open
baka'taH1234 →
לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם<to> before them
lifneihemH6440 →2123 times
וַיַּֽעַבְר֥וּand they passed
vaiyaavruH5674 →556 times
בְתוֹךְ־in [the] middle of
vetokh-H8432 →418 times
הַיָּ֖םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
בַּיַּבָּשָׁ֑הon the dry ground
baiyabashahH3004 →
וְֽאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
רֹ֨דְפֵיהֶ֜םpursuers their
rodefeihemH7291 →
הִשְׁלַ֧כְתָּyou threw
hishlakhtaH7993 →125 times
בִמְצוֹלֹ֛תin [the] depths
vimtzolotH4688 →
כְּמוֹ־like
kemov-H3644 →143 times
אֶ֖בֶןa stone
ʾevenH68 →273 times
בְּמַ֥יִםin waters
bemayimH4325 →581 times
עַזִּֽים׃mighty
ʾazimH5794 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 78:13He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…
- Exodus 15:8
At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
- Psalms 136:13–15
He divided the Red Sea in two His loving devotion endures forever.
- Exodus 14:21
Through
Hebrews 11:29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:13
But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never…
- Psalms 106:9–11
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert.
- Psalms 78:13
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
- Isaiah 51:9–10
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the…
- Joshua 2:10
For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings…
- Exodus 14:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.