You are Yahweh, even you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. The army of heaven worships you.
Parallel Translations
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You are Yahweh, even you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. The army of heaven worships you.
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Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
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Thou art the LORD, even Thou alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee.
Cross-references (31)
Passages linked to Nehemiah 9:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 37:16 “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, who is enthroned among the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
- Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
- Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”
- Deuteronomy 10:14 Behold, to Yahweh your God belongs heaven, the heaven of heavens, and the earth, with all that is therein.
- Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.
- Genesis 2:1 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished.
- 2 Kings 19:15 Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
- Isaiah 44:6 This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
- Isaiah 44:8 Don’t fear, neither be afraid. Haven’t I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don’t know any other Rock.”
- Jeremiah 10:11-12 “You shall say this to them: ‘The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.’ ” God has made the earth by his power. He has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens.
- Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” says Yahweh, “With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.
- Psalms 86:10 For you are great, and do wondrous things. You are God alone.
- Revelation 5:11-13 I saw, and I heard something like a voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders. The number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!” I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!”
- Revelation 14:7 He said with a loud voice, “Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!”
- 1 Kings 8:27 But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built!
- Psalms 36:6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Yahweh, you preserve man and animal.
- Colossians 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.
- Hebrews 1:3 His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,
- 2 Kings 19:19 Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us, I beg you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Yahweh, are God alone.”
- Psalms 148:2-4 Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his army! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you heavens of heavens, you waters that are above the heavens.
- Isaiah 6:2-3 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
- Isaiah 37:20 Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh, even you only.”
- Mark 12:29-30 Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
- 1 Kings 22:19 Micaiah said, “Therefore hear Yahweh’s word. I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
- Psalms 33:6 By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made: all their army by the breath of his mouth.
- Psalms 103:21 Praise Yahweh, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure.
- Psalms 136:5-9 to him who by understanding made the heavens; for his loving kindness endures forever: to him who spread out the earth above the waters; for his loving kindness endures forever: to him who made the great lights; for his loving kindness endures forever: the sun to rule by day; for his loving kindness endures forever; the moon and stars to rule by night; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- Psalms 146:6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever;
- Ezekiel 20:11 I gave them my statutes, and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he will live in them.
- Hebrews 1:6 When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him.”
- John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Neh 9:6 Thou, [even] thou, [art] LORD alone; thou…
Neh 9:6 Thou, [even] thou, [art] LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all [things] that [are] therein, the seas, and all that [is] therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Ver. 6. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone] Jehovah is God’s incommunicable name; that holy and reverend name of his which Jews pronounce not, we too oft profane, at least by not considering the import of it; which is enough to answer all our doubts, and to fill us with strong consolation, had we but skill to spell all the letters in it.
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Thou hast made heaven] With great skill and artifice thou hast made it, three stories high, 2Co 12:2 Heb 11:10.
The heaven of heavens] Called the highest, Luk 2:14, and the third heaven, 2Co 12:2. Of this heaven no natural knowledge can be had, nor any help by human arts, geometry, optics, &c.; for it is neither aspectable nor movable.
With all their host] i.e. Their furniture: angels, those heavenly courtiers, sun, moon, and stars, &c., which are all God’s servants, Psa 119:91, and do, in their way, worship him.
The earth, and all things that are therein] God may be read in the great book of nature, which hath three leaves, heaven, earth, and sea. Heaven is all that is above earth. Earth is an element of cold and dry nature, thick, solid, heavy, placed in the midst of the world as the foundation thereof, and therefore unmovable, though round (and in that respect naturally apt for motion), and though founded, not upon solid rocks, but fluid waters. This Aristotle himself wondered at, Lib. ii. de Caelo, cap. 13.
And all things that are thereon] Either therein, as metals and minerals; or thereon, as men, beasts, creeping things, &c.
The seas, and all that are therein] As, There is that leviathan, and creeping things innumerable. God’s handiwork all of them.
And thou preservest them all] Givest them ζωην και πνοην, Act 17:25, life and breath motion and maintenance; thou upholdest the whole creation by the word of thy power, and all things subsist by thy upholding, Heb 1:3. God doth not cast off the care of his works that he hath made (as doth the carpenter, or shipwright), but being perpetually present with them, ruleth, disposeth, and ordereth all by a certain counsel, to his own ends, and at length to his own glory.
And the host of heaven worshippeth thee] Angels and saints especially; who the more they know of God the more they love him and honour him; making their addresses to him with greatest self-abasement, considering their distance and disproportion. Thus angels: as for saints: "All thy works praise thee, O God," saith David, that is, they give matter and occasion; "but thy saints bless thee," Psa 145:10. How they do this, see Rev 5:11-12.
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 The host of heaven; either,
The host of heaven; either,
1. The stars, which after their manner worship and praise God, as all the creatures do after their manner, of which see Psa 148; or rather,
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2. The angels, who are so called, as 1Ki 22:19; Luk 2:13, who do worship God truly and properly. And it is most usual and reasonable to understand all words properly, where there is no need of a figurative interpretation. And if this were understood of metaphorical and objective worshipping of God, there seems to be no reason to appropriate that to the host of heaven, to wit, the stars, seeing the hosts of sea and earth do in that sense worship God no less than the stars do, namely, in giving angels and men matter and occasion of worshipping and praising of God.
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 Thou, even thou art Lord alone,.... Whose name alone…
Thou, even thou art Lord alone,.... Whose name alone is Jehovah, the one only true and living God:
thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host; the airy and starry heavens, and the sun, moon, and stars in them, and the third heaven, the seat of God, angels, and saints:
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the earth, and all things that are therein; men, beasts, trees, metals, minerals, &c.
the seas, and all that is therein; fishes, sea plants, &c. see Act 4:24,
and thou preservest them all; they consist in thee, and are upheld in their being by thee, Heb 1:3
and the host of heaven worshipped thee; not the sun, moon, and stars, only in their way, Psa 148:2 but the angels chiefly, Heb 1:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Thou preservest them all] ואתה מחיה את…
Verse 6. Thou preservest them all] ואתה מחיה את כלם vettah mechaiyeh eth cullam, and thou givest life to them all: and the host of the heavens, לך משתחוים lecha mishtachavim, prostrate themselves unto thee. How near is this to the opinion of Kepler, that all the heavenly host are instinct with life, and navigate the great expanse on pinions adjusted to their situation in their respective orbits! But to preserve in life, or in being, is a very good meaning in the original, which does not necessarily imply vitality. We say a tree is alive when flourishing, a plant is dead when it withers, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Neh 9:6. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone —…
Neh 9:6. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone — Jehovah, the self-existent and independent being; there is no God beside thee; thou hast made heaven, &c. — They acknowledged the God they worshipped to be the supreme Sovereign, the Lord over all, who had created all things whatsoever, who preserved them by his providence, and therefore had a sovereign dominion over all. And the host of heaven worshippeth thee — The angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim, and all the inhabitants of heaven, of whatever order, acknowledge thee as the universal King.
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 The host of heaven worshippeth thee - i. e…
The host of heaven worshippeth thee - i. e the angels. See 1Ki 22:19; Psa 103:21.
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 Of heavens. The highest, (Calmet) and most glorious (Haydock)…
Of heavens. The highest, (Calmet) and most glorious (Haydock) residence of the Eternal. --- Host. Stars (Calmet) and angels, (Menochius) which are like his guards. --- Life, or being. If the Levites had adopted the sentiments of the Persians, that the stars were animated, this does not prove the truth of that opinion, which has nevertheless been maintained by many, Genesis i. 18. (Calmet) --- The expression is used for preserving, (Psalm xl. 3.; Menochius) re-establishing, &c., chap. iv. 2. (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 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--In this solemn…
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. Then they proceed to enumerate His mercies and distinguished favors to them as a nation, from the period of the call of their great ancestor and the gracious promise intimated to him in the divinely bestowed name of Abraham, a promise which implied that he was to be the Father of the faithful, the ancestor of the Messiah, and the honored individual in whose seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. Tracing in full and minute detail the signal instances of divine interposition for their deliverance and their interest--in their deliverance from Egyptian bondage--their miraculous passage through the Red Sea--the promulgation of His law--the forbearance and long-suffering shown them amid their frequent rebellions--the signal triumphs given them over their enemies--their happy settlement in the promised land--and all the extraordinary blessings, both in the form of temporal prosperity and of religious privilege, with which His paternal goodness had favored them above all other people, they charge themselves with making a miserable requital. They confess their numerous and determined acts of disobedience. They read, in the loss of their national independence and their long captivity, the severe punishment of their sins. They acknowledge that, in all heavy and continued judgments upon their nation, God had done right, but they had done wickedly. And in throwing themselves on His mercy, they express their purpose of entering into a national covenant, by which they pledge themselves to dutiful obedience in future.
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 6. All their host — The glorious host of…
6. All their host — The glorious host of stars. Compare Gen_2:1.
Host of heaven worshippeth thee — Here the host of angels are intended. Compare Psa_103:21; Psa_148:2.
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 6. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone] R.V. Thou…
6. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone] R.V. Thou art the LORD, even thou alone. The confession opens with a declaration of the unity of the God of Israel. Jehovah alone is: He alone made the worlds and led Israel. Cf. Psa_83:18, ‘That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah (marg. thou whose name alone is Jehovah) art the Most High above all the earth,’ Isa_44:6.
made] ‘fecisti’ not ‘creasti,’ ‘âsah’ not ‘bara;’ no reference to Gen_1:1; Gen_2:1.
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heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host] For ‘the heaven’ and ‘the heaven of heavens,’ cf. Deu_10:14; 1Ki_8:27; 2Ch_2:6; 2Ch_6:18; Psa_148:4. It denotes ‘the heavens’ in their plenitude, the clouds, and the wonders of the sky, the stars and the whole sidereal world.
therein] R.V. thereon.
therein] R.V. in them, giving emphasis to the use of the plural.
preservest] literally, ‘givest life to,’ ‘quickenest;’ LXX. ζωοποιεῖς. Vulg. ‘vivificas,’ an allusion to the continuity of Divine operation in relation to the Universe. Cf. Job_33:4; Joh_5:17.
the host of heaven] Does this refer to the stars and the powers of the sky, or to the angelic beings? The words, being separated from the phrase, ‘all their host’ and following upon the mention of the seas and the earth, most probably mean the created spirits, a distinct group of created things, 1Ki_22:19; Psa_103:21.
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 (6) Preservest them all.—In this comprehensiveness reproduced only in…
(6) Preservest them all.—In this comprehensiveness reproduced only in Heb_1:3.
The host of heaven.—First the stars, but here the angels (Psa_103:21).
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 Thou art Lord alone. Compare Psa_86:10 and Isa_27:1-6. In…
Thou art Lord alone. Compare Psa_86:10 and Isa_27:1-6. In the latter passage the phrase used is almost identical. The heaven of heavens. Compare Deu_10:14 1Ki_8:27 Psa_148:4. The expression has been explained as
1. The very highest heaven;
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2. The heavens in all their infinity,
The latter sense best suits the various passages where the phrase occurs. With all their host. The "host of heaven" has been taken to mean
1. The angels;
2. The stars.
By the immediate context the stars would seem to be here intended; but the last clause of the verse is more properly applicable to the angels. Still, it must be remembered that, according to H.S., (Psa_148:3) even the stars "praise" God. Thou preservest them all. The preservation of all created things by him who called them into being is scarcely taught in the Old Testament elsewhere than in this passage. The Psalmist says in one place, "Thou preservest man and beast"; (Psa_36:6) but this acknowledgment falls very far short of the universality of the present passage. Man naturally, but foolishly, fancies that things once created are able to preserve themselves. Exact thought sees, that if all things have been produced from nothing, it requires precisely the same power to sustain as originally to produce them. Hence preservation" has been called "a continual creation.
Vers. 6-15, 19-25, 27-31. Adoration and thanksgiving.
At this great and solemn gathering, which followed the feast of tabernacles, Ezra and eight Levites led the whole assembly in a reverent address and appeal to God. It is thought by some that the record of it in this chapter (vers. 6-38) is the exact copy of it as then written down for the use of the Levites; or it may be the leading topics of it as afterwards recollected and recorded. We have seen that confession of sin is the groundwork and substance of it. But it includes adoration and thanksgiving, for the grateful recital of the excellences of God"s character and the graciousness of his dealings would be the very thing to deepen and to quicken penitence for their sin. A realisation of God"s holiness and a remembrance of his kindness are inseparably connected with the sense of our own guilt. This recital of the goodness of God, both general and particular, contains reference to
1. The essential greatness of God: as the one Lord; Creator and Preserver of men; Maker of heaven, "with all their host;"... whom "the host of heaven worshippeth" (ver. 6).
2. His distinguishing goodness to Israel: choosing Abraham (ver. 7), working great wonders on behalf of the race (vers. 10, 11), giving them a day of rest and a human leader (ver. 14), establishing and enriching them in the land of promise (vers. 22-25).
3. His miraculous and his abiding care for their wants: giving them "bread from heaven for their hunger," and bringing forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst (ver. 15); forty years sustaining them in the wilderness (ver. 21).
4. His faithfulness: "performing his words, for he is righteous" (ver. 8).
5. His pitifulness, and mercy, and patience: seeing their affliction and hearing their cry (ver. 9); "ready to pardon, slow to anger, and of great kindness" (ver. 17); "many times delivering them" in answer to their cry (ver. 28); "not utterly consuming nor forsaking them" (ver. 31).
6. His guidance and teaching: giving the cloudy pillar and the pillar of fire( ver. 12); speaking to them from heaven and giving them judgments and true laws, etc. (ver. 13), and his "good Spirit to instruct them" (ver. 20).
7. His chastening love (vers. 28-30). Let us consider
I THE ABUNDANT GROUND FOR GRATITUDE ON THE PART OF EVERY ONE OF US. We worship and bless God as
(1) our Creator: "it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;" it is he who breathed into us "the breath of life," and made us "living souls;" as
(2) our Divine Preserver and Sustainer, whose visitation has preserved our spirit; as
(3) One who has shown many peculiar and especial favours to us which he has not bestowed on others; as
(4) One who has been opening his band and satisfying our daily want loading us with benefits;" as
(5) One who has been faithful in all his dealings with us; who
(6) has borne much and long with our waywardness, our fruitlessness, our imperfection; as
(7) One who has been guiding us continually, "ordering our steps," leading us by a way we knew not, by a right and a wise way;
(8) teaching us his holy will, acting on us by his "good Spirit," and
(9) blessing us by that which we may have least appreciated, but which has been the truest instance of his love by chastening us, correcting us, "leading us into the wilderness, humbling us," weakening us, impoverishing us, taking from us the "light of our eyes," "breaking our schemes of earthly joy," that we might return unto him, to find our rest in his love, our portion in his service.
II GOOD REASONS WHY WE, AS ERRING BUT ENDEAVOURING SOULS, SHOULD RECALL AND RECOUNT IT. There are four very strong reasons why, in the presence of God and of one another, we should recall his past loving-kindness and his everlasting goodness.
1. It is in accordance with his will, and will give pleasure to him when we do so reverently and gratefully.
2. It will deepen our sense of sin; for we shall feel that it is against all this goodness and mercy we have rebelled.
3. It will give spirituality and intensity to the voice of our praise. Such recollections will constrain us to "make melody in our heart" when we make music with our voice.
4. It will give depth to our abiding gratitude that sense of unbounded indebtedness which we carry with us from the sanctuary, and hold in our hearts everywhere. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.