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.
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Nehemiah 9:33-35 sits inside this longer paragraph.
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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:
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.
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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Howbeit Thou art just in all that is come upon us; for Thou hast dealt truly, but we have done wickedly;
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.
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.
Cross-references (22)
- Deuteronomy 28:47 (v35) Because you didn’t serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;
- Genesis 18:25 (v33) May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May…
- Psalms 106:6 (v33) We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.
- Daniel 9:5-14 (v33) we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your…
- Deuteronomy 32:12-15 (v35) Yahweh alone led him. There was no foreign god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth. He ate the increase of the…
Show all 21 cross-references
- 2 Kings 17:13 (v34) Yet Yahweh testified to Israel, and to Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep my commandments…
- Job 34:23 (v33) For he doesn’t need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.
- Jeremiah 5:19 (v35) It will happen when you say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Just as you have forsaken…
- Jeremiah 29:19 (v34) because they have not listened to my words,” says Yahweh, “with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending…
- Deuteronomy 31:21 (vv34–35) It will happen, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this song will testify before them as a witness; for it will not be…
- Leviticus 26:40-41 (v33) “ ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me; and also that…
- Job 33:27 (v33) He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me.
- Psalms 119:137 (v33) You are righteous, Yahweh. Your judgments are upright.
- Psalms 145:17 (v33) Yahweh is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works.
- Jeremiah 12:1 (v33) You are righteous, Yahweh, when I contend with you; yet I would like to reason the cause with you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper?…
- Lamentations 1:18 (v33) “Yahweh is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment. Please hear all you peoples, and see my sorrow. My virgins and my young…
- Deuteronomy 8:7-10 (v35) For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and…
- 2 Kings 17:15 (v34) They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they…
- Nehemiah 9:25 (v35) They took fortified cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns dug out, vineyards, olive groves, and…
- Nehemiah 9:30 (v34) Yet many years you put up with them, and testified against them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not listen. Therefore…
- Romans 3:4-5 (v35) May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “that you might be justified in your words, and might…
21 distinct cross-references across this passage (22 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv33–34 He confesseth that all these things came to them…
He confesseth that all these things came to them justly for their sins, but he appealeth from God’s justice to his mercies.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv33–35 Neh 9:33 Howbeit thou [art] just in all that…
Neh 9:33 Howbeit thou [art] just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:
Ver. 33. Howbeit thou art just] So Mauricius, the emperor, justified God, when he saw his wife and children butchered before his eyes by the traitor Phocas, and knew that himself should be soon after stewed in his own broth; he cried out, Just art thou, O Lord, and just are all thy judgments. So did the noble Du Plessy, when he heard of the death of his only son slain in Holland; which so grieved his mother, that soon after she died.
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 v35 Which thou gavest before them, i.e. which thou didst…
Which thou gavest before them, i.e. which thou didst lay open to their view and possession, removing their enemies and all impediments out of the way.
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 vv33–35 Howbeit, thou art just in all that is brought…
Howbeit, thou art just in all that is brought upon us,.... They own the justice of God, could not complain of any wrong done them; and had he shown them no mercy at all, it was but what they deserved:
for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly; he had done according to the truth of his word of promise, he had faithfully kept it, but they had transgressed his righteous law.
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 v33 Thou art just. &c. - It becomes us, when…
Thou art just. &c. - It becomes us, when we are under the rebukes of providence, be they ever so sharp, or ever so long continued, still to justify God, and to own we are punished less than our iniquities deserve.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv34–35 Verse 34. Neither have our kings] In this verse…
Verse 34. Neither 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.
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 v35 Neh 9:35. For they served thee not in the…
Neh 9:35. For they served thee not in the land which thou gavest them — That is, which thou didst lay open to their view and possession; removing their enemies, and all impediments, out of the way. Neither turned they from their wicked works — They not only all acted wickedly, from the highest to the lowest, but would not be reclaimed. Thus they acknowledge the justice of God in all the punishments he had inflicted on them, though heavy and of long continuance.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v33 Truth, fulfilled thy promises. We have broken the covenant.
Truth, fulfilled thy promises. We have broken the covenant.
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).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv33–35 33. just] The same epithet as that rendered ‘righteous’…
33. just] The same epithet as that rendered ‘righteous’ (c̣addîq) in Neh_9:8. See also Ezr_9:15.
brought] R.V. come.
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done right] R.V. dealt truly. Literally ‘truth’ (LXX. ἀλήθειαν. Vulg. ‘veritatem’), i.e. Thou hast fulfilled thy word both in blessing and punishment: but we have been unfaithful to the covenant. Cf. Dan_9:14, ‘For the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, and we have not obeyed his voice.’ The pronoun ‘we’ is emphatic; the speakers pass from reference to their forefathers, in order to accept for themselves the responsibility of association with the nation’s guilt.
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 v34 (34) Our kings.—Note that the prophets are omitted in…
(34) Our kings.—Note that the prophets are omitted in this enumeration.
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 vv33–35 The justice of God in punishing sinners.
The justice of God in punishing sinners.
"Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly." The words express a just and salutary conviction, and make an acknowledgment suitable to accompany an appeal to the Divine compassion.
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I THE CONVICTION EXPRESSED. Of very great importance that we should not only verbally utter it, but sincerely feel it. How may we arrive at this conviction?
1. By faith in God"s essential rectitude. That he cannot be unrighteous in any of his proceedings. (see Deu_32:4)
2. By considering the rectitude and goodness of the laws against which we have sinned.
3. By remembering all that God has done to guard us against sin (see on ver. 29). If we sin notwithstanding, we are justly punished.
4. By calling to mind our sins. Their essential evil, their number and magnitude, and the circumstances which aggravate their guiltiness (God"s varied kindness, our opportunities, advantages, knowledge, convictions, good resolutions, etc.). Such a review will lead us to exclaim with Ezra, "Thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve". (Ezr_9:13)
5. By comparing what we endure with the Divine threatenings. The Israelites had been warned of the consequences of their rebellion against God. He was only fulfilling his word. So it is with us. What we suffer is no more, is indeed less, than we were warned to expect.
II THE BENEFITS OF SUCH A CONVICTION.
1. It will prevent our murmuring at our sufferings. "Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?". (Lam_3:39)
2. It will greatly aid in producing repentance. Suffering is likely to do its proper work in humbling us and making sin odious when we recognise the justice of God in inflicting it.
3. It will lead to an appeal to the mercy of God for deliverance. Such an appeal, made through Christ, will be regarded, while an appeal to justice would be as futile as groundless. Finally, observe that the goodness of God is as conspicuous as his justice in the sufferings he inflicts in this life. They have in view "our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness," and so of true and everlasting blessedness. But if through our perversity they fail of this result, they are followed by the penalties of "judgment without mercy."
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 v35 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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while they enjoyed your great goodness to them
"while they enjoyed the good things you gave them"
they did not serve you
"they were not obedient to your law or teaching"
translationWords
kingdom
good
servant
turn
evil
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.