Nehemiah 9:35
in Nehemiah 9For even while they were in their kingdom, with the abundant goodness that You had given them, and in the spacious and fertile land that You had set before them, they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For 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 before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
KJV
For 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 before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
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This verse in Nehemiah 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseFor they have not served thee in their kingdom - Instead of במלכותם bemalcutham, “in Their kingdom,” במלכותך bemalcuthecha, in Thy kingdom,” is the reading of two of Kennicott’s MSS.; as also of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic. This is most likely to be the true reading.
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
the spacious and fertile land
The spacious land recalls the promise at the burning bush, Exodus 3:8, a good and spacious land. Adam Clarke prefers the reading Your kingdom, found in two Hebrew manuscripts and in the Septuagint, Syriac and Arabic. On that reading the kingdom was God's.
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
For they have not served thee in their kingdom,....
Fatness and fulness often make men proud and sensual. Here is a humble representation of the judgments of God, which they had been and were now under. Former judgments are remembered as aggravations of their sins, that they had not taken warning.
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהֵ֣ם | vehem | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| בְּמַלְכוּתָם֩ | bemalkhutam | in own kingdom their | H4438 → | |
| וּבְטוּבְךָ֨ | uvetuvekha | and in goodness your | H2898 → | 32 times |
| הָרָ֜ב | harav | <the> great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֣תָּ | natata | you had given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶ֗ם | lahem | to them | ||
| וּבְאֶ֨רֶץ | uveeretz | and in [the] land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הָרְחָבָ֧ה | harechavah | <the> broad | H7342 → | 21 times |
| וְהַשְּׁמֵנָ֛ה | vehashemenah | and <the> fertile | H8082 → | |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֥תָּ | natata | you had set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִפְנֵיהֶ֖ם | lifneihem | <to> before them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עֲבָד֑וּךָ | ʾavadukha | they served you | H5647 → | |
| וְֽלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁ֔בוּ | shavu | they turned back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מִמַּֽעַלְלֵיהֶ֖ם | mimaaleihem | from deeds their | H4611 → | |
| הָרָעִֽים׃ | haraim | <the> evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
וְהֵ֣םand they
vehemH1992 →553 times
בְּמַלְכוּתָם֩in own kingdom their
bemalkhutamH4438 →
וּבְטוּבְךָ֨and in goodness your
uvetuvekhaH2898 →32 times
הָרָ֜ב<the> great
haravH7227 →454 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נָתַ֣תָּyou had given
natataH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶ֗םto them
lahem
וּבְאֶ֨רֶץand in [the] land
uveeretzH776 →2504 times
הָרְחָבָ֧ה<the> broad
harechavahH7342 →21 times
וְהַשְּׁמֵנָ֛הand <the> fertile
vehashemenahH8082 →
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נָתַ֥תָּyou had set
natataH5414 →2011 times
לִפְנֵיהֶ֖ם<to> before them
lifneihemH6440 →2123 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עֲבָד֑וּךָthey served you
ʾavadukhaH5647 →
וְֽלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָׁ֔בוּthey turned back
shavuH7725 →1056 times
מִמַּֽעַלְלֵיהֶ֖םfrom deeds their
mimaaleihemH4611 →
הָרָעִֽים׃<the> evil
haraimH7451 →662 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
Deuteronomy 28:47Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:11
and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your…
- 1 Timothy 6:17–19
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…
- Deuteronomy 12:7–12
There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
- Nehemiah 9:35–37
For even while they were in their kingdom, with the abundant goodness that You had given them, and in the spacious and fertile land that You had set before them, they would not serve…
- Deuteronomy 16:11
Through
Jeremiah 5:19And when the people ask, ‘For what offense has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ You are to tell them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 9:8–9
And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land…
- Deuteronomy 28:47–48
Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,
- Jeremiah 22:8–9
And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
- Jeremiah 13:22
And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
- 1 Kings 9:8–9
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.