Nehemiah's Prayer for Jerusalem
Nehemiah 1:1-11
Neh.1.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- נחמיה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חכליה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בחדש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- כסליו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שנת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- עשרים: NUM,card,pl
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- בשושן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הבירה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Nehemiah 2:1 (structural): Same chronological framing—’in the twentieth year’—and continues the court setting, linking Nehemiah’s opening dateline to his later appearance before the king.
- Ezra 7:1 (thematic): Introductory formula for a post‑exilic leader (name, genealogy, Persian royal context); both books present leaders serving under Persian kings and use similar prefatory announcements.
- Esther 1:2 (verbal): Both passages locate events in ‘Shushan the palace/citadel’ (שושן הבירה), using the same place-name and royal palace setting.
- Daniel 8:2 (verbal): Daniel also places a vision/account ‘at Shushan (Susa) the citadel,’ echoing the specific geographical setting of Nehemiah 1:1 and Esther’s court backdrop.
Alternative generated candidates
- The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. It came about in the month Kislev, in the twentieth year, that I was in Shushan the citadel.
- The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. It came to pass in the month Kislev, in the twentieth year, that I was in Shushan the citadel.
Neh.1.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- חנני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- מאחי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss1s
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ואנשים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מיהודה: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואשאלם: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- על: PREP
- היהודים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הפליטה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נשארו: VERB,qal,perf,3,mp
- מן: PREP
- השבי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezra 1:1-4 (structural): Both passages introduce the initiative to restore Judah/Jerusalem after exile and set the stage for return by reporting on those who remain and the possibility of rebuilding.
- Ezra 2:1-2 (verbal): Echoes the language of people 'who had gone up out of the captivity' and lists those from Judah who returned—parallel concern with the remnant who survived exile and came to Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 (quotation): Records Cyrus’s decree enabling exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple—background legal/political context for the remnant and the report Nehemiah receives.
- Isaiah 44:28 (allusion): Prophecies that Cyrus would restore and rebuild Jerusalem; thematically tied to the report about the survivors in Jerusalem and the possibility of restoring the city.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (thematic): Promise that after seventy years God will bring the exiles back—connects to the concern in Nehemiah over the surviving remnant and the future restoration of Jerusalem.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hanani, one of my brothers, came — he and certain men of Judah — and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem.
- Hanani, one of my brothers, came—he and certain men of Judah—and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, those who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.
Neh.1.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- הנשארים: PART,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נשארו: VERB,qal,perf,3,mp
- מן: PREP
- השבי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שם: ADV
- במדינה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ברעה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גדלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ובחרפה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וחומת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,construct
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מפרצת: ADJ,ptc,f,sg,abs
- ושעריה: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נצתו: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,pl
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 25:9 (verbal): Describes the same event—the house of the LORD burned and the walls of Jerusalem broken down—using similar wording about destruction by the Babylonians.
- 2 Chronicles 36:19-21 (verbal): Parallel historical summary of Jerusalem’s fall: temple burned, walls broken, and people taken into exile, echoing the picture of ruin and reproach.
- Lamentations 1:1 (thematic): A poetic lament over Jerusalem’s desolation, captivity, and shame—echoes the themes of affliction, reproach, and the city’s ruined condition.
- Isaiah 64:10 (thematic): Depicts Zion and Jerusalem as a desolation/wilderness, thematically paralleling the image of a ruined, afflicted city in Neh 1:3.
- Nehemiah 2:17 (structural): Nehemiah’s subsequent report repeats and develops the same information about the remnant and the broken walls/gates—direct continuation of the situation described in Neh 1:3.
Alternative generated candidates
- They said to me, "The remnant that survived the exile in this province are in great distress and disgrace; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire."
- They said to me, “The remnant that are left in the province are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
Neh.1.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כשמעי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- ישבתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- ואבכה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- ואתאבלה: VERB,hitpael,impf,1,c,sg
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואהי: VERB,qal,impf,1,ms,sg
- צם: VERB,qal,inf,0,0,0
- ומתפלל: VERB,hitpael,ptcp,0,m,sg
- לפני: PREP
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Ezra 9:3 (verbal): Very similar reaction-formula—on hearing bad news the leader sits down, mourns/weeps and expresses penitential grief (both texts depict an immediate, bodily response to the people's sin).
- Dan.9:3 (verbal): Both speakers turn to the heavenly God with prayer and fasting on behalf of the nation; shared penitential vocabulary and corporate-orientated supplication (fasting, prayer, confession).
- Joel 2:12-13 (thematic): Prophetic summons to return to God 'with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning' provides theological and liturgical background for Nehemiah’s penitential posture.
- 1 Sam.1:10 (thematic): Personal instance of deep grief leading to weeping and prayer (and abstention from food); parallels Nehemiah’s emotional mourning and prayerful petition to God in a time of distress.
Alternative generated candidates
- When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned many days; I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
- When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for several days; I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Neh.1.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אנא: PART
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הגדול: ADJ,m,sg,def
- והנורא: ADJ,m,sg,def
- שמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הברית: NOUN,f,sg,def
- וחסד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאהביו: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- ולשמרי: CONJ+PREP+PTC,qal,mp,pl,suff1s
- מצותיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:9 (verbal): Almost identical formula: God is faithful, 'keeping covenant and steadfast love to those who love him and keep his commandments.'
- Daniel 9:4 (verbal): Very close prayer language and wording — 'O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love to those who love him and keep his commandments.'
- Exodus 34:6-7 (thematic): Divine attributes of mercy, steadfast love (chesed), and covenantal faithfulness — the background for Nehemiah's description of God.
- Psalm 86:15 (thematic): Similar emphasis on God's character as merciful, gracious, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness toward those who call on him.
- Ezra 9:5 (structural): A parallel prayer opening in the postexilic period ('O my God, I am ashamed...'), sharing the same liturgical setting and address to 'God of heaven.'
Alternative generated candidates
- I said, "O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love for those who love you and keep your commandments,
- I said, “O LORD God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love you and keep your commandments,
Neh.1.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,f,sg
- נא: PART
- אזנך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m,sg
- קשבת: PARTCP,qal,act,f,sg
- ועיניך: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs+suff(2ms)
- פתוחות: ADJ,f,pl
- לשמע: INF,qal,infc
- אל: NEG
- תפלת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מתפלל: VERB,qal,ptc,act,m,sg
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- יומם: ADV
- ולילה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- ומתודה: CONJ+VERB,hiph,inf
- על: PREP
- חטאות: NOUN,f,pl,const
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חטאנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- ובית: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,cs
- אבי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- חטאנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,pl
Parallels
- Daniel 9:3-5 (thematic): Daniel models corporate confession and intercession for Israel—seeking God’s mercy for national sin, like Nehemiah’s petition and admission ‘we have sinned.’
- Ezra 9:5-6 (verbal): Ezra stands to confess the sins of Israel and his own household—language and posture of personal/corporate confession echo Nehemiah’s ‘I and the house of my father have sinned.’
- 1 Kings 8:33-34 (structural): Solomon’s temple prayer asks that when the people sin and repent God would hear from heaven—parallels Nehemiah’s appeal for God’s attentive ear and eyes to hear prayer.
- Psalm 34:15 (verbal): Uses the imagery of God’s attentive eyes and open ears toward the righteous’ cry, echoing Nehemiah’s request that God listen and look upon his prayer.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (thematic): Promises that if God’s people humble themselves, pray and repent he will hear and heal—the corporate repentance-and-hearing theme underlies Nehemiah’s supplication.
Alternative generated candidates
- incline your ear, O Lord, and open your eyes, and hear the prayer of your servant which I pray before you day and night for the people of Israel, your servants; I confess the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you — I and my father's house have sinned.
- let now your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you day and night on behalf of the people of Israel, your servants; and I confess the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you—both I and my father’s house have sinned.
Neh.1.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חבל: NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- חבלנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,.,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- שמרנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,.,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- המצות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- החקים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- המשפטים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צוית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 4:1 (allusion): Moses’ charge to Israel to obey the statutes and judgments — Nehemiah refers to the laws commanded to Moses, echoing the Mosaic injunction to keep commandments, statutes, and judgments.
- Daniel 9:11 (thematic): A communal confession that Israel has transgressed God’s law and failed to obey his precepts; parallels Nehemiah’s admission that the people did not keep the commandments, statutes, and judgments.
- Ezra 9:10–11 (verbal): Ezra’s penitential language—‘we have forsaken thy commandments’—closely parallels Nehemiah’s confession of failure to keep the commands given to Moses.
- Leviticus 26:40–42 (structural): Pattern of communal confession and return after failing to keep God’s statutes and covenant; Leviticus presents the same sequence (failure to keep statutes → confession → covenantal response) echoed in Nehemiah’s prayer.
- Psalm 106:6–7 (thematic): A communal lament admitting sin and failure to keep God’s ways and commands; Psalm 106’s confession of corporate disobedience parallels Nehemiah’s penitential admission.
Alternative generated candidates
- We have acted corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses.
- We have acted culpably before you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses.
Neh.1.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נא: PART
- את: PRT,acc
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צוית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- תמעלו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אפיץ: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- בעמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:33 (quotation): Part of the covenant curse spoken through Moses: God threatens to 'scatter you among the nations,' the specific line Neh.1:8 invokes as the Mosaic warning.
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (quotation): A Deuteronomic formulation of the same covenant curse — the LORD will 'scatter you among the nations' and leave you few in number — closely parallels Neh.1:8's appeal to Moses' command.
- Ezekiel 36:19–20 (verbal): Ezekiel describes God scattering Israel among the nations because of their impurity; uses similar language and the exile-as-judgment motif echoed in Neh.1:8.
- Ezekiel 12:15 (allusion): God says he will scatter the people among the nations for their rebellion; this prophetic warning echoes the Mosaic scattering threat cited in Neh.1:8.
- Psalm 106:40–41 (thematic): The psalm recounts God's anger and giving Israel into the hands of the nations as punishment — a liturgical reflection on the same exile/scattering theme Nehemiah invokes.
Alternative generated candidates
- Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, "If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations."
- Remember now the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples.’
Neh.1.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושבתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ושמרתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- מצותי: NOUN,f,pl,abs,1cs
- ועשיתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- אם: CONJ
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- נדחכם: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg,obj,2,m,pl
- בקצה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- משם: PREP
- אקבצם: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg,obj,3,pl
- והביאותים: CONJ+VERB,hiphil,impf,1,sg
- אל: NEG
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בחרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- לשכן: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- שמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- שם: ADV
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 30:2-5 (verbal): Speaks of returning to the LORD, obeying his commandments, and the LORD’s gathering of the exiles from the ends of the earth and bringing them back into the land—language and themes closely paralleling Neh 1:9.
- Isaiah 11:11-12 (thematic): Prophetic promise that God will recover and gather the outcasts/dispersed of Israel from the farthest parts of the earth—echoes the promise to assemble exiles in Neh 1:9.
- Ezekiel 36:24 (verbal): ‘I will take you from the nations and gather you... and bring you into your own land’—a direct verbal parallel to the gathering-from-scattered-places motif in Neh 1:9.
- Jeremiah 29:14 (verbal): God’s promise to be found by his people, bring them back from captivity, and bring them to the place he has chosen to set his name—closely mirrors Neh 1:9’s wording about bringing exiles to the place chosen for God’s name.
- Amos 9:14 (thematic): Promise that God will restore the fortunes of Israel, bring them back, and plant them on their land so they will never again be uprooted—resonant restoration theme with Neh 1:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are at the farthest horizon, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen to make my name dwell.
- But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them—if you are driven out to the farthest ends of the heavens, from there I will gather you, and bring you to the place that I have chosen to make my name dwell.’
Neh.1.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והם: CONJ+PRON,3,m,pl
- עבדיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- ועמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- פדית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בכחך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m,sg
- הגדול: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ובידך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss:2,sg
- החזקה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Exodus 6:6 (verbal): God’s promise to ‘redeem’ Israel with an outstretched/mighty arm echoes Nehemiah’s language of being ‘redeemed by your great power and your strong hand.’
- Exodus 15:13 (thematic): After the exodus the song celebrates God’s guidance of ‘the people you redeemed’ by his steadfast power—similar language of God as redeemer and deliverer used in Nehemiah’s prayer.
- Deuteronomy 7:8 (verbal): God is said to have brought Israel out ‘with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm’ and to have chosen and redeemed them—paralleling Nehemiah’s acknowledgment of God’s strong hand in redemption.
- Deuteronomy 4:34 (verbal): A summary of signs and wonders by which God acted ‘with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm’ to deliver Israel, resonating with Nehemiah’s reference to God’s great power and strong hand.
- Isaiah 63:9 (thematic): Isaiah depicts the Lord’s redeeming, compassionate action on behalf of his people (lifting and saving them), which thematically parallels Nehemiah’s appeal to God who redeemed his servants by his power and hand.
Alternative generated candidates
- They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
- They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
Neh.1.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אנא: PART
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- תהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,f,sg
- נא: PART
- אזנך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m,sg
- קשבת: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,f,sg
- אל: NEG
- תפלת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תפלת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- עבדיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- החפצים: ADJ,ptcp,pres,_,m,pl,def
- ליראה: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- שמך: NOUN,m,sg,cs,2,m,sg
- והצליחה: VERB,hiph,imperfect,3,f,sg
- נא: PART
- לעבדך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ותנהו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg+3ms
- לרחמים: PREP
- לפני: PREP
- האיש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- משקה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למלך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Daniel 1:9 (thematic): Both speak of God granting favor and compassion in the sight of a court official; Daniel ‘found favor and compassion’ before the chief official, paralleling Nehemiah’s plea for success and mercy before the king’s representative.
- Esther 5:2 (thematic): Esther’s winning of favor in the king’s presence after careful approach echoes Nehemiah’s request that God grant him success and favor before ‘this man’ (the king), a courtly petition for acceptance.
- 1 Kings 8:28 (verbal): Solomon’s dedication prayer—'Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see'—parallels Nehemiah’s opening petition asking God to give ear to the prayer of his servant.
- Psalm 86:1 (verbal): The psalmist’s plea 'Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me' echoes Nehemiah’s request that God attend to the prayer of his servant, sharing the same petitionary language.
Alternative generated candidates
- O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to revere your name; prosper, I pray, your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man — for I was the king's cupbearer."
- O Lord, let now your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who desire to fear your name. Prosper, I pray, your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man, for I was the king’s cupbearer.”
The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month Kislev, in the twentieth year, I was at Shushan the citadel. Now Hanani, one of my brothers, came—he and certain men of Judah—and I asked them about the remnant of the Jews who had survived the captivity and about Jerusalem.
They said to me, “The remnant that remains in the province are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days; I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, great and awesome, who keeps covenant and faithful love with those who love you and keep your commandments,
now let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant which I now offer before you day and night on behalf of the people of Israel, your servants; I confess the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you—both I and my father’s house have sinned.”
We have acted wickedly against you; we have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses.
Remember the word that you commanded to your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the nations.’ But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them—though your dispersed be at the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them, and bring them to the place that I have chosen to make my name dwell there.
They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
O LORD, now let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayers of your servants who desire to revere your name. Grant success to your servant today, and show him mercy in the sight of this man— for I was the king’s cupbearer.”