Nehemiah 9:16
in Nehemiah 9But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
KJV
But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
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This verse in Nehemiah 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut they and our fathers dealt proudly,.... Behaved in a haughty manner towards God, their kind benefactor: and hardened their necks; refused to take the yoke of his law, as refractory oxen, that withdraw their necks from the yoke: and hearkened not to thy commandments; to do them, though they promised they would, Exo 24:7.
This site's exposition
became arrogant and stiff-necked
on Nehemiah 9:16-17
Then comes the sentence the prayer turns on: "You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion" (9:17). It is the Lord's own self-description at Sinai in Exodus 34, prayed back to Him after a long record of failure.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(2.) Two great sins are here specified; which they were guilty of in the wilderness--meditating a return, [1.] To Egyptian slavery, which, for the sake of the garlick and onions, they preferred before the glorious liberty of the Israel of God attended with some difficulty and inconvenience.
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
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהֵ֥ם | vehem | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ | vaavoteinu | and ancestors our | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הֵזִ֑ידוּ | hezidu | they acted presumptuously | H2102 → | 10 times |
| וַיַּקְשׁוּ֙ | vaiyakshu | and they stiffened | H7185 → | 28 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עָרְפָּ֔ם | ʾarepam | neck their | H6203 → | 33 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמְע֖וּ | shameu | they listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִצְוֹתֶֽיךָ׃ | mitzvoteikha | commandments your | H4687 → | 181 times |
וְהֵ֥םand they
vehemH1992 →553 times
וַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּand ancestors our
vaavoteinuH1 →1212 times
הֵזִ֑ידוּthey acted presumptuously
heziduH2102 →10 times
וַיַּקְשׁוּ֙and they stiffened
vaiyakshuH7185 →28 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עָרְפָּ֔םneck their
ʾarepamH6203 →33 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמְע֖וּthey listened
shameuH8085 →1159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִצְוֹתֶֽיךָ׃commandments your
mitzvoteikhaH4687 →181 times
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
Hebrews 3:15As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 3:7–8
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice,
- Psalms 95:7
For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice,
- Hebrews 10:38
But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- Hebrews 10:29
How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of…
- Hebrews 3:7–8
Through
Nehemiah 9:29You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly…
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:5
Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
- Nehemiah 9:26
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- Leviticus 18:5
Through
Nehemiah 9:10You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the people of his land, for You knew they had acted with arrogance against our fathers. You made a name for Yourself…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:20
You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and You do so to this very day, both in Israel and among all mankind. And You have made a name for Yourself, as…
- Daniel 9:15
Now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and who made for Yourself a name renowned to this day, we have sinned; we…
- Jeremiah 32:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, A God Ready to Pardon (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1272); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.