Nehemiah 9:9

THE MESSAGE

You saw the anguish of our parents in Egypt. You heard their cries at the Red Sea; You amazed Pharaoh, his servants, and the people of his land with wonders and miracle-signs. You knew their bullying arrogance against your people; you made a name for yourself that lasts to this day. You split the sea before them; they crossed through and never got their feet wet; You pitched their pursuers into the deep; they sank like a rock in the storm-tossed sea. By day you led them with a Pillar of Cloud, and by night with a Pillar of Fire To show them the way they were to travel. You came down onto Mount Sinai, you spoke to them out of heaven; You gave them instructions on how to live well, true teaching, sound rules and commands; You introduced them to your Holy Sabbath; Through your servant Moses you decreed commands, rules, and instruction. You gave bread from heaven for their hunger, you sent water from the rock for their thirst. You told them to enter and take the land, which you promised to give them.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egyptand heard their cry at the Red Sea.

Hebrew Names Version
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Mitzrayim, and heard their cry by the Sea of Suf,

King James Version
And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;

English Standard Version
"And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea,

New Century Version
"You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt and heard them cry out at the Red Sea.

New English Translation
"You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea.

Amplified Bible
"You saw our fathers' affliction in Egypt, And You heard their cry by the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds).

New American Standard Bible
"You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea.

World English Bible
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thou hast also considered the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the red Sea,

Legacy Standard Bible
"You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,And heard their cry by the Red Sea.

Berean Standard Bible
You saw the oppression of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.

Contemporary English Version
When our ancestors were in Egypt, you saw their suffering; when they were at the Red Sea, you heard their cry for help.

Complete Jewish Bible
"‘You saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry by the Sea of Suf.

Darby Translation
And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea;

Easy-to-Read Version
You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt and heard them call for help by the Red Sea.

George Lamsa Translation
And thou didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and hear their cry by the Red Sea;

Good News Translation
"You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt; you heard their call for help at the Red Sea.

Lexham English Bible
"You saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their shout at the Red Sea.

Literal Translation
And You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And hast considered the mysery of oure fathers in Egipte, and herde their complainte by the reed See,

American Standard Version
And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea,

Bible in Basic English
And you saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry came to your ears by the Red Sea;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And hast considered the miserie of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their complaynt by the red sea:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea;

King James Version (1611)
And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the red Sea,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and thou heardest their cry at the Red Sea.

English Revised Version
And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thou hast seyn the turment of oure fadris in Egipt, and thou herdist the cry of hem on the reed see.

Update Bible Version
And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea,

Webster's Bible Translation
And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;

New King James Version
"You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea.

New Living Translation
"You saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea.

New Life Bible
"You saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt. You heard their cry by the Red Sea.

New Revised Standard
"And you saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yea thou sawest the affliction of our fathers, in Egypt, and, their outcry, thou heardest, by the Red Sea;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt: and thou didst hear their cry by the Red Sea.

Revised Standard Version
"And thou didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and hear their cry at the Red Sea,

Young's Literal Translation
and dost see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry hast heard by the sea of Suph,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea.

Contextual Overview

⁴A group of Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the platform and cried out to God , their God, in a loud voice. The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "On your feet! Bless God , your God, for ever and ever!" Blessed be your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise! You're the one, God , you alone; You made the heavens, the heavens of heavens, and all angels; The earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them; You keep them all alive; heaven's angels worship you! You're the one, God , the God who chose Abram And brought him from Ur of the Chaldees and changed his name to Abraham. You found his heart to be steady and true to you and signed a covenant with him, A covenant to give him the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, The Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites, —to give it to his descendants. And you kept your word because you are righteous. You saw the anguish of our parents in Egypt. You heard their cries at the Red Sea; You amazed Pharaoh, his servants, and the people of his land with wonders and miracle-signs. You knew their bullying arrogance against your people; you made a name for yourself that lasts to this day. You split the sea before them; they crossed through and never got their feet wet; You pitched their pursuers into the deep; they sank like a rock in the storm-tossed sea. By day you led them with a Pillar of Cloud, and by night with a Pillar of Fire To show them the way they were to travel. You came down onto Mount Sinai, you spoke to them out of heaven; You gave them instructions on how to live well, true teaching, sound rules and commands; You introduced them to your Holy Sabbath; Through your servant Moses you decreed commands, rules, and instruction. You gave bread from heaven for their hunger, you sent water from the rock for their thirst. You told them to enter and take the land, which you promised to give them. But they, our ancestors, were arrogant; bullheaded, they wouldn't obey your commands. They turned a deaf ear, they refused to remember the miracles you had done for them; They turned stubborn, got it into their heads to return to their Egyptian slavery. And you, a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, Incredibly patient, with tons of love— you didn't dump them. Yes, even when they cast a sculpted calf and said, "This is your god Who brought you out of Egypt," and continued from bad to worse, You in your amazing compassion didn't walk off and leave them in the desert. The Pillar of Cloud didn't leave them; daily it continued to show them their route; The Pillar of Fire did the same by night, showed them the right way to go. You gave them your good Spirit to teach them to live wisely. You never stinted with your manna, gave them plenty of water to drink. You supported them forty years in that desert; they had everything they needed; Their clothes didn't wear out and their feet never blistered. You gave them kingdoms and peoples, establishing generous boundaries. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. You multiplied children for them, rivaling the stars in the night skies, And you brought them into the land that you promised their ancestors they would get and own. Well, they entered all right, they took it and settled in. The Canaanites who lived there you brought to their knees before them. You turned over their land, kings, and peoples to do with as they pleased. They took strong cities and fertile fields, they took over well-furnished houses, Cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and lush, extensive orchards. And they ate, grew fat on the fat of the land; they reveled in your bountiful goodness. But then they mutinied, rebelled against you, threw out your laws and killed your prophets, The very prophets who tried to get them back on your side— and then things went from bad to worse. You turned them over to their enemies, who made life rough for them. But when they called out for help in their troubles you listened from heaven; And in keeping with your bottomless compassion you gave them saviors: Saviors who saved them from the cruel abuse of their enemies. But as soon as they had it easy again they were right back at it—more evil. So you turned away and left them again to their fate, to the enemies who came right back. They cried out to you again; in your great compassion you heard and helped them again. This went on over and over and over. You warned them to return to your Revelation, they responded with haughty arrogance: They flouted your commands, spurned your rules —the very words by which men and women live! They set their jaws in defiance, they turned their backs on you and didn't listen. You put up with them year after year and warned them by your spirit through your prophets; But when they refused to listen you abandoned them to foreigners. Still, because of your great compassion, you didn't make a total end to them. You didn't walk out and leave them for good; yes, you are a God of grace and compassion. And now, our God, the great God, God majestic and terrible, loyal in covenant and love, Don't treat lightly the trouble that has come to us, to our kings and princes, our priests and prophets, Our ancestors, and all your people from the time of the Assyrian kings right down to today. You are not to blame for all that has come down on us; You did everything right, we did everything wrong. None of our kings, princes, priests, or ancestors followed your Revelation; They ignored your commands, dismissed the warnings you gave them. Even when they had their own kingdom and were enjoying your generous goodness, Living in that spacious and fertile land that you spread out before them, They didn't serve you or turn their backs on the practice of evil. And here we are, slaves again today; and here's the land you gave our ancestors So they could eat well and enjoy a good life, and now look at us—no better than slaves on this land. Its wonderful crops go to the kings you put over us because of our sins; They act like they own our bodies and do whatever they like with our cattle. We're in deep trouble. "Because of all this we are drawing up a binding pledge, a sealed document signed by our princes, our Levites, and our priests." ⁶ Then on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the People of Israel gathered for a fast, wearing burlap and faces smudged with dirt as signs of repentance. The Israelites broke off all relations with foreigners, stood up, and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their parents. While they stood there in their places, they read from the Book of The Revelation of God , their God, for a quarter of the day. For another quarter of the day they confessed and worshiped their God . A group of Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the platform and cried out to God , their God, in a loud voice. The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "On your feet! Bless God , your God, for ever and ever!" Blessed be your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise! You're the one, God , you alone; You made the heavens, the heavens of heavens, and all angels; The earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them; You keep them all alive; heaven's angels worship you! ⁷You're the one, God , the God who chose Abram And brought him from Ur of the Chaldees and changed his name to Abraham. You found his heart to be steady and true to you and signed a covenant with him, A covenant to give him the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, The Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites, —to give it to his descendants. And you kept your word because you are righteous. ⁹You saw the anguish of our parents in Egypt. You heard their cries at the Red Sea; You amazed Pharaoh, his servants, and the people of his land with wonders and miracle-signs. You knew their bullying arrogance against your people; you made a name for yourself that lasts to this day. You split the sea before them; they crossed through and never got their feet wet; You pitched their pursuers into the deep; they sank like a rock in the storm-tossed sea. By day you led them with a Pillar of Cloud, and by night with a Pillar of Fire To show them the way they were to travel. You came down onto Mount Sinai, you spoke to them out of heaven; You gave them instructions on how to live well, true teaching, sound rules and commands; You introduced them to your Holy Sabbath; Through your servant Moses you decreed commands, rules, and instruction. You gave bread from heaven for their hunger, you sent water from the rock for their thirst. You told them to enter and take the land, which you promised to give them. ¹⁶But they, our ancestors, were arrogant; bullheaded, they wouldn't obey your commands. They turned a deaf ear, they refused to remember the miracles you had done for them; They turned stubborn, got it into their heads to return to their Egyptian slavery. And you, a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, Incredibly patient, with tons of love— you didn't dump them. Yes, even when they cast a sculpted calf and said, "This is your god Who brought you out of Egypt," and continued from bad to worse, You in your amazing compassion didn't walk off and leave them in the desert. The Pillar of Cloud didn't leave them; daily it continued to show them their route; The Pillar of Fire did the same by night, showed them the right way to go. ²⁰You gave them your good Spirit to teach them to live wisely. You never stinted with your manna, gave them plenty of water to drink. You supported them forty years in that desert; they had everything they needed; Their clothes didn't wear out and their feet never blistered. You gave them kingdoms and peoples, establishing generous boundaries. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. You multiplied children for them, rivaling the stars in the night skies, And you brought them into the land that you promised their ancestors they would get and own. ²⁴Well, they entered all right, they took it and settled in. The Canaanites who lived there you brought to their knees before them. You turned over their land, kings, and peoples to do with as they pleased. They took strong cities and fertile fields, they took over well-furnished houses, Cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and lush, extensive orchards. And they ate, grew fat on the fat of the land; they reveled in your bountiful goodness. ²⁶But then they mutinied, rebelled against you, threw out your laws and killed your prophets, The very prophets who tried to get them back on your side— and then things went from bad to worse. You turned them over to their enemies, who made life rough for them. But when they called out for help in their troubles you listened from heaven; And in keeping with your bottomless compassion you gave them saviors: Saviors who saved them from the cruel abuse of their enemies. But as soon as they had it easy again they were right back at it—more evil. So you turned away and left them again to their fate, to the enemies who came right back. They cried out to you again; in your great compassion you heard and helped them again. This went on over and over and over. You warned them to return to your Revelation, they responded with haughty arrogance: They flouted your commands, spurned your rules —the very words by which men and women live! They set their jaws in defiance, they turned their backs on you and didn't listen. You put up with them year after year and warned them by your spirit through your prophets; But when they refused to listen you abandoned them to foreigners. Still, because of your great compassion, you didn't make a total end to them. You didn't walk out and leave them for good; yes, you are a God of grace and compassion. ³²And now, our God, the great God, God majestic and terrible, loyal in covenant and love, Don't treat lightly the trouble that has come to us, to our kings and princes, our priests and prophets, Our ancestors, and all your people from the time of the Assyrian kings right down to today. You are not to blame for all that has come down on us; You did everything right, we did everything wrong. None of our kings, princes, priests, or ancestors followed your Revelation; They ignored your commands, dismissed the warnings you gave them. Even when they had their own kingdom and were enjoying your generous goodness, Living in that spacious and fertile land that you spread out before them, They didn't serve you or turn their backs on the practice of evil. And here we are, slaves again today; and here's the land you gave our ancestors So they could eat well and enjoy a good life, and now look at us—no better than slaves on this land. Its wonderful crops go to the kings you put over us because of our sins; They act like they own our bodies and do whatever they like with our cattle. We're in deep trouble. ³⁸ "Because of all this we are drawing up a binding pledge, a sealed document signed by our princes, our Levites, and our priests."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

didst see: Exodus 2:25, Exodus 3:7-9, Exodus 3:16, Acts 7:34

heardest: Exodus 14:10-12

Reciprocal: Genesis 15:14 - that Exodus 2:23 - cry Exodus 2:24 - remembered Exodus 3:6 - hid Exodus 14:13 - ye shall see Exodus 14:15 - General Exodus 18:8 - told Deuteronomy 6:21 - General Deuteronomy 29:3 - General Judges 6:8 - a prophet Judges 10:11 - Egyptians 1 Samuel 10:18 - Thus saith 1 Samuel 12:6 - It is the Lord Isaiah 22:12 - call Micah 6:4 - I brought Acts 7:7 - the nation Acts 13:17 - and with

Cross-References

Genesis 6:18
"But I'm going to establish a covenant with you: You'll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you'll need and store it up for you and them."

Genesis 9:8
Then God spoke to Noah and his sons: "I'm setting up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you, along with everything alive around you—birds, farm animals, wild animals—that came out of the ship with you. I'm setting up my covenant with you that never again will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters; no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth."

Genesis 9:17
And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I've set up between me and everything living on the Earth."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,.... The hard bondage in which their lives were made bitter; and was not a mere spectator of it, but looked upon them in it with pity and compassion, and sent them a deliverer, Exodus 2:23

and heardest their cry by the Red sea; which was before them, and the rocks on both sides of them, and the host of Pharaoh behind, pressing upon them, when he heard them, and wrought salvation for them,

Exodus 14:10.