Nehemiah 9:34
in Nehemiah 9Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies wherewith thou didst testify against them.
KJV
Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.
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This verse in Nehemiah 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseNeither have our kings - In this verse he acknowledges that the kings, princes, priests, and fathers, had broken the law: but the prophets are left out; for they continued faithful to God, testifying by his Spirit against the crimes of all; and this even at the risk of their lives.
This site's exposition
You are just in all that has befallen us
on Nehemiah 9:33-35
"You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly" (9:33). Verse 34 spreads the failure across every office, kings, leaders, priests and fathers alike. God kept His word while every rank broke the law.
This site's exposition
did not obey Your law
The list repeats verse 32 with one change: the prophets drop out. Adam Clarke explains the omission: the prophets stayed faithful and testified against the rest, often at the risk of their lives. Verse 26 has already named prophets killed for that testimony.
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
Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law,.... All ranks of men, from the highest to the lowest, had shown no regard, nor yielded obedience to the holy law of God: nor hearkened unto thy commandments, and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them; moral and ceremonial, which were a testification of the will of God to them, and a testimony against them if they observed them not.
Two things they charge upon themselves and their fathers, as the cause of their troubles:-- (1.) A contempt of the good law God had given them: They sinned against thy judgments, the dictates of divine wisdom, and the demands of divine sovereignty.
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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מְלָכֵ֤ינוּ | melakheinu | kings our | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שָׂרֵ֙ינוּ֙ | sareinu | leaders our | H8269 → | 421 times |
| כֹּהֲנֵ֣ינוּ | kohaneinu | priests our | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וַאֲבֹתֵ֔ינוּ | vaavoteinu | and ancestors our | H1 → | 1212 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָשׂ֖וּ | ʾasu | they did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| תּוֹרָתֶ֑ךָ | toratekha | law your | H8451 → | 219 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִקְשִׁ֙יבוּ֙ | hikshivu | they paid attention | H7181 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִצְוֹתֶ֔יךָ | mitzvoteikha | commandments your | H4687 → | 181 times |
| וּלְעֵ֣דְוֹתֶ֔יךָ | uleedevoteikha | and to testimonies your | H5715 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הַעִידֹ֖תָ | haidota | you admonished | H5749 → | 44 times |
| בָּהֶֽם׃ | bahem | <in> them |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מְלָכֵ֤ינוּkings our
melakheinuH4428 →2525 times
שָׂרֵ֙ינוּ֙leaders our
sareinuH8269 →421 times
כֹּהֲנֵ֣ינוּpriests our
kohaneinuH3548 →750 times
וַאֲבֹתֵ֔ינוּand ancestors our
vaavoteinuH1 →1212 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עָשׂ֖וּthey did
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
תּוֹרָתֶ֑ךָlaw your
toratekhaH8451 →219 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הִקְשִׁ֙יבוּ֙they paid attention
hikshivuH7181 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִצְוֹתֶ֔יךָcommandments your
mitzvoteikhaH4687 →181 times
וּלְעֵ֣דְוֹתֶ֔יךָand to testimonies your
uleedevoteikhaH5715 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הַעִידֹ֖תָyou admonished
haidotaH5749 →44 times
בָּהֶֽם׃<in> them
bahem
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
2 Kings 17:15They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and themselves became worthless, going after the surrounding…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:30–31
be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
- Deuteronomy 32:21
They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
- Romans 1:21–23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- Deuteronomy 12:30–31
Through
Nehemiah 9:30You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
it leads to
- Romans 2:4
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- 2 Kings 17:13–18
Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your…
- Romans 2:4
Through
Jeremiah 29:19I will do this because they have not listened to My words, declares the LORD, which I sent to them again and again through My servants the prophets. And neither have you exiles listened,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:19
Hear, O earth! I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their own schemes, because they have paid no attention to My word and have rejected My instruction.
- Jeremiah 6:19
Through
2 Kings 17:13Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 35:15
Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve…
- Jeremiah 35:15
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
