Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them. In the time of their trouble, when they cried to you, you heard from heaven; and according to your manifold mercies you gave them saviors who saved them out of the hands of their adversaries. But after they had rest, they did evil again before you; therefore you left them in the hands of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned, and cried to you, you heard from heaven; and many times you delivered them according to your mercies, and testified against them, that you might bring them again to your law. Yet they were arrogant, and didn’t listen to your commandments, but sinned against your ordinances (which if a man does, he shall live in them), turned their backs, stiffened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years you put up with them, and testified against them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not listen. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
“Nevertheless in your manifold mercies you didn’t make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.
Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness, don’t let all the travail seem little before you, that has come on us, on our kings, on our princes, on our priests, on our prophets, on our fathers, and on all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day. However you are just in all that has come on us; for you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly. Also our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law, nor listened to your commandments and your testimonies with which you testified against them. For they have not served you in their kingdom, and in your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land which you gave before them. They didn’t turn from their wicked works.
“Behold, we are servants today, and as for the land that you gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its good, behold, we are servants in it. It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. Also they have power over our bodies and over our livestock, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36 He declareth how God’s mercies ever contended with the…
He declareth how God’s mercies ever contended with the wickedness of the people, who ever in their prosperity forgat God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv27–37 Neh 9:27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand…
Neh 9:27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest [them] from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
Ver. 27. Therefore thou deliveredst them] Flagitium et flagellum, sicut acus et filum. Sin and punishment are tied together with chains of adamant.
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Who vexed them] Heb. Put them to straits; so that they had not what shift to make or how to help themselves.
And in the time of their trouble] Vexatio dedit intellectum. The time of affliction is the time of supplication. When out of the depths God’s people cry unto him, they may have anything, Zec 13:9, speedy audience, unmiscarrying returns of their prayers.
Thou gavest them saviours] i.e. Deliverers, such as the judges were, Jdg 3:9, and such as Flaminius the Roman was to the poor Argives; who therefore called him Saviour, Saviour, and that with such a courage, ut corvi fortuito supervolantes, in stadium deciderent, that the birds fell to the earth amazed with that outcry; the air was so dissipated with their acclamations (Plut. in Flam.).
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 32, 35, 36, 37 Which if a man do, he shall live in…
Which if a man do, he shall live in them; of which see on Lev 18:5; Eze 20:11; Rom 10:5; Gal 3:12.
Withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, i.e. would not submit to thy yoke, like stubborn oxen.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv27–37 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their…
Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them,.... As the kings of Mesopotamia, Moab, Canaan, and others:
and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee; as they usually did, Jdg 3:9,
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thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hands of their enemies; such were judges, Othniel, Ehud, Barak, Gideon, &c. and this was, done for them, not on account of their merits, but the abundant unmerited mercy of the Lord towards them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 37 Mercy - He adds mercy, because the covenant in…
Mercy - He adds mercy, because the covenant in itself was not a sufficient ground of hope, because they had so basely broken it. God was discharged from keeping it, and therefore they fly to God's free and rich mercy for relief.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv27, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37 Verse 27. Thou gavest them saviours] The whole book…
Verse 27. Thou gavest them saviours] The whole book of Judges is a history of God's mercies, and their rebellions.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37 Neh 9:27. When they cried unto thee, &c. —…
Neh 9:27. When they cried unto thee, &c. — The whole book of Judges verities this, that God delivered them for their sins unto the Moabites, the Canaanites, and divers other enemies, who grievously domineered over them; but when they cried to God for help, he was so gracious as to send such men as Barak, Gideon, and others, to be their saviours, that is, deliverers, from tyranny.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v27 Thou gavest them saviours - See Jdg 3:15 etc.
Thou gavest them saviours - See Jdg 3:15 etc.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 36, 37 Saviours. Josue, (Calmet) and more particularly the judges, (Menochius)…
Saviours. Josue, (Calmet) and more particularly the judges, (Menochius) David, &c. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv32, 36, 37 Now therefore, our God . . . who keepest…
Now therefore, our God . . . who keepest covenant and mercy--God's fidelity to His covenant is prominently acknowledged, and well it might; for their whole national history bore testimony to it. But as this could afford them little ground of comfort or of hope while they were so painfully conscious of having violated it, they were driven to seek refuge in the riches of divine grace; and hence the peculiar style of invocation here adopted: "Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 32 29. Withdrew the shoulder — Like the refractory ox…
29. Withdrew the shoulder — Like the refractory ox or the “backsliding heifer” (Hos_4:16) that rebels against the yoke. Compare Zec_7:11.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv27–37 27. enemies … vexed] R.V. adversaries … distressed. The…
27. enemies … vexed] R.V. adversaries … distressed. The English version cannot reproduce the alliteration of the Hebrew, where ‘adversaries,’ ‘distressed’ and ‘trouble’ have a common root.
thou heardest them] R.V. omit them. So in Neh_9:28. Cf. ‘Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place,’ 1Ki_8:30.
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saviours] LXX. σωτηρίας. Vulg. ‘salvatores.’ By this title the judges are spoken of in Jdg_2:16; Jdg_3:9; Jdg_3:15. Cf. 2Ki_13:5, ‘And the Lord gave Israel a saviour.’
27, 28. The Period of the Judges
This is narrated without any attempt at detailed treatment.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv27, 32, 34, 37 (27) Their enemies who vexed them.—The phraseology in this…
(27) Their enemies who vexed them.—The phraseology in this and the following verse shows that the Book of Judges is carefully remembered in the prayer.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 Thou gavest them saviours. e.g. Othniel and Ehud, (who…
Thou gavest them saviours. e.g. Othniel and Ehud, (who are called "saviours," Jud_1:3:9, 15) Shamgar, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, Saul, David, etc. The writer seems to have the history of "Judges" especially in his mind (see the next verse).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v33 Howbeit, Thou art just in all that is brought…
Neh_9:33
Howbeit, Thou art just in all that is brought upon us.
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The miseries of life; their origin and remedy
The miseries of life have been a fruitful theme to writers in all ages. Some have endeavoured to engage us in their contemplation for a wise and good end. Others have taken occasion from them to dispute the wisdom, justice, and goodness of God. Such notions, thus derogatory from the providence of God, tend, even in the best of men, if not timely eradicated, to weaken those impressions of reverence and gratitude which are necessary to add warmth to devotion and vigour to virtue. The teaching of Scripture is, that God is not to be charged with disregard of His creation. He created man for happiness, and this happiness was forfeited by a breach of the conditions to which it was annexed. Physical and moral evil entered the world together. To avoid misery we must avoid sin. Consider--
I. How few of the evils of life can justly be ascribed to God. We must carefully distinguish that which is actually appointed by Him from that which is only permitted, or that which is the consequence of something done to ourselves, and could not be prevented but by the interruption of those general laws which we term the course of nature or the established order of the universe. If we examine all the afflictions of mind, body, and estate by this rule, we shall find God not otherwise accessory to them than as He works no miracles to prevent them, as He suffers men to be masters of themselves, and restrains them only by coercions applied to their reason.
1. In making an estimate of the miseries that arise from the disorders of the body, we must consider how many diseases proceed from our own laziness, intemperance, or negligence; how many the vices or follies of our ancestors have transmitted to us.
2. Nor are the disquietudes of the mind less frequently excited by ourselves.
(1) Pride is the general source of our infelicity.
(2) Immoderate desires.
(3) Undue solicitude about future events which gives rise to harassing fears and anxieties.
3. Poverty is not always the effect of wickedness--it may often be the effect of virtue; but it is not certain that poverty is an evil.
II. How far a general piety might exempt community from those evils. A community, in which virtue should generally prevail, of which every member should fear God with his whole heart and love his neighbour as himself, where every man should labour to make himself perfect even as his Father which is in heaven is perfect, would find these evils practically non-existant.
III. How much in the present corrupt state of the world particular men may, by the practice of the duties of religion, promote their own happiness. (John Taylor, LL. D.)
God has done right
I. Right as to wisdom. It is of great importance for us to know, and to feel, especially when tossed on the billows and enveloped in the darkness of some heavy affliction, that God is infinitely wise, and that His wisdom can and will conduct all the circumstances of His people to a happy issue. This is absolutely necessary to the enjoyment of anything like calm security amidst such scenes. It is so in the common affairs of life. The soldier trusts in the wisdom of his general, and is calm in battle. The sailor trusts in the wisdom of his captain, and is calm in the tempest. The traveller has confidence in the wisdom of his guide, and pursues his course in peaceful security. And so, if believers would enjoy a calm and cheerful assurance in fighting the battles, braving the storms, and pursuing the pilgrimage of their present probation, they must have a settled and solid repose in the infallible wisdom of God. And they must seek this, not so much from the deductions of human reason, or the better lights of their own experience in relation to providence, as from the operations of faith in the Scripture revelations of God and His government.
II. Right as to justice. Amidst the afflictions of life, not only must we recognise and trust the infinite wisdom of God, but we must endeavour, by the lights of revelation and experience, to reconcile the justice of God with the afflictions of the righteous, and thus justify the ways of God to men. Men who only look on the surface of things and events, and judge from that, often charge God with being rigorous, unjust, and unrighteous in the operations and issues of His providence. All temporal sufferings are the righteous consequence of original or actual sin, and are frequently merited by the best of men. None can affirm that they are free from human frailties and sinful defects, and therefore they have no right to complain of the punishment of their sins. Our afflictions, generally, fall far below the guilt which we have contracted. The time is hastening on when the wisdom and justice of providence will be convincingly evident to all.
III. Right as to goodness. Thou art good, and doest good. Such was the testimony of the psalmist; such is the uniform testimony of revelation; and such, notwithstanding its mysteries, is the acknowledgment of universal providence. And it is very necessary for us to be convinced of this, and live under the perpetual and growing influence of it, amidst the tribulations of life. Else how can we be calm, secure, and happy?
1. Strive to understand God in your afflictions. From the absence of this intelligent view of Gods providence in affliction the greatest mischief often springs. Ignorance here, as everywhere else, is ever attended by distrust, fear, dissatisfaction, and wasting anxiety; while, on the other hand, intelligence produces confidence, serenity, contentedness, and a delightful peace and repose.
2. Learn to avoid a spirit of envy and murmuring. If God acts wisely, justly, and mercifully, in often permitting the wicked to live and prosper and the righteous to fall into great afflictions, then resign yourselves to His will, be satisfied with the dispensations of His hand, envy not the condition of others, neither murmur at your own. Consider well the folly, vanity, and misery of sinful prosperity, which rather needs your pity than your envy.
3. Learn to be firm and faithful in the service and cause of God. Afflictions have driven many from Christ and His kingdom. (W. Gregory.)
Gods proceedings in His justice sometimes inexplicable
Take a straight stick and put it into the water, then it will seem crooked; why? because we look upon it through two mediums, air and water. There lies the deceptio visus; thence it is that we cannot discern aright. Thus the proceedings of God in His justice, which in themselves are straight, without the least obliquity, seem unto us crooked. That wicked men should prosper, and good men be afflicted; that the Israelites should make the bricks, and the Egyptians dwell in the houses; that servants should ride on horseback, and princes go on foot--these are things that make the best Christians stagger in their judgments. And why? but because they look upon Gods proceedings through a double medium of flesh and spirit, that so all things seem to go cross, though indeed they go right enough. And hence it is that Gods proceedings in His justice are not so well discerned, the eyes of man alone being not competent judges thereof. (J. Spencer.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 30, 32, 35, 36 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
In these verses, the Levites continue to praise Yahweh in the presence of the people of Israel.
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they had rest, they did evil again before you
Here "they" refers to the Israelites and "you" to Yahweh.
you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies
Here "hand" represents power or control. AT: "you abandoned them and allow their enemies to defeat them" (See: Metonymy)
did not listen to your commands
If your language has a word for "listen" that also means "obey," use it here.
your decrees which give life to anyone who obeys them
Yahweh himself is spoken of as if he were the decrees themselves. AT: "you even though you give life to everyone who obeys your decrees" (See: Metonymy)
They gave the stubborn shoulder-blade and stiffened their neck
These are images of an ox refusing to allow its owner to put a yoke on its shoulders. Here they are a metaphor that represents the people being stubborn. AT: "They became stubborn" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
rest
evil
adversary
rule
heaven
compassion
law
command
sin
decree
life
obey
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 32 9:28-31 The people did not learn from mistakes made…
9:28-31 The people did not learn from mistakes made in the period of the judges (9:26-27), and the same pattern of disobedience emerged during the subsequent monarchy (cp. 2 Kgs 17). Despite the nation’s persistent disobedience (Neh 9:29), God was persistent in his love, patience, compassion, and guidance through the Spirit and through the prophets.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.