Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEB WMB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE MOF JPS ASV DRA YLT DBY RV WBS KJB BB GNV CB TNT WYC SR-GNT UHB Related Parallel Interlinear Dictionary Search
parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH EZRA NEH EST JOB PSA PRO ECC SNG ISA JER LAM EZE DAN HOS JOEL AMOS OBA YNA MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs ROM 1COR 2COR GAL EPH PHP COL 1TH 2TH 1TIM 2TIM TIT PHM HEB YAC 1PET 2PET 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN YUD REV
Neh Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13
Neh 1 V1 V2 V3 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. This view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on the version abbreviation to see the verse in more of its context.
OET (OET-RV) No OET-RV NEH 1:4 verse available
OET-LV And_he/it_was when_heard_I DOM the_words the_these I_sat_down and_wept and_mourned days and_was fasting and_praying to_(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before the_god the_heavens.
UHB וַיְהִ֞י כְּשָׁמְעִ֣י ׀ אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה יָשַׁ֨בְתִּי֙ וָֽאֶבְכֶּ֔ה וָאֶתְאַבְּלָ֖ה יָמִ֑ים וָֽאֱהִ֥י צָם֙ וּמִתְפַּלֵּ֔ל לִפְנֵ֖י אֱלֹהֵ֥י הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ ‡
(vayəhiy ⱪəshāməˊiy ʼet-haddəⱱāriym hāʼēlleh yāshaⱱəttī vāʼeⱱəⱪeh vāʼetəʼabəlāh yāmiym vāʼₑhiy ʦām ūmitəpallēl lifənēy ʼₑlohēy hashshāmāyim.)
Key: yellow:verbs, blue:Elohim.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT And it happened that, when I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and I mourned for days. And I was fasting and praying before the face of the God of heaven.
UST When I heard about these things, I sat down and cried. I could not stop mourning for days. I went without food, and I prayed to the God who is in heaven.
BSB § When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
OEB Now when I heard these statements I sat down and wept and mourned certain days; and I fasted and made supplication before the God of heaven,
LSB Now it happened that when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
WEB When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned several days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
NET When I heard these things I sat down abruptly, crying and mourning for several days. I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
LSV And it comes to pass, at my hearing these words, I have sat down, and I weep and mourn [for] days, and I am fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
FBV When I heard the news, I sat down, weeping and mourning for days, fasting and praying to the God of heaven.
T4T When I heard that, I sat down and cried. For several days I mourned, and I ◄fasted/abstained from eating food►, and I prayed to our God, who is/rules in heaven.
LEB When I heard these words, I sat and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
BBE Then, after hearing these words, for some days I gave myself up to weeping and sorrow, seated on the earth; and taking no food I made prayer to the God of heaven,
MOF No MOF NEH book available
JPS And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
ASV And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
DRA And when I had heard these words, I sat down, and wept, and mourned for many days: and I fasted, and prayed before the face of the God of heaven.
YLT And it cometh to pass, at my hearing these words, I have sat down, and I weep and mourn [for] days, and I am fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
DBY And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of the heavens,
RV And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
WBS And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
KJB ¶ And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
BB And when I hearde these wordes, I sat downe and wept, and mourned certayne dayes, and fasted and prayed before the God of heauen,
(And when I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,)
GNV And when I heard these wordes, I sate downe and wept, and mourned certeine dayes, and I fasted and prayed before the God of heauen,
(And when I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,)
CB Wha I herde these wordes, I sat me downe & wepte, & mourned two dayes, & fasted & prayed before the God of heauen,
(Wha I heard these words, I sat me down and wept, and mourned two days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,)
WYC And whanne Y hadde herd siche wordis, Y sat and wepte, and morenede many daies, and Y fastide, and preiede bifor the face of God of heuene;
(And when I had heard such words, I sat and wept, and morenede many days, and I fastide, and prayed before the face of God of heaven;)
LUT Da ich aber solche Worte hörete, saß ich und weinete und trug Leid zween Tage; und fastete und betete vor dem GOtt vom Himmel
(So I but solche Worte listente, sat I and cried and wore Leid zween Tage; and fastete and betete before/in_front_of to_him God from_the heaven)
CLV Cumque audissem verba hujuscemodi, sedi, et flevi, et luxi diebus multis: jejunabam, et orabam ante faciem Dei cæli:
(Cumque audissem verba huyuscemodi, sedi, and flevi, and lighti days multis: yeyunabam, and orabam ante faciem Dei cæli:)
BRN And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for several days, and continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
BrLXX No BrLXX NEH book available
1:4 Nehemiah fervently mourned, fasted, and prayed for about four months (cp. 1:1; 2:1), deeply concerned for Jerusalem.
God Works through Prayer
Although God is sovereign over all creation, he desires for his people to bring their concerns to him in prayer. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of God acting in response to the prayers of his people. Prayer is essential for anyone who desires to live a godly life and carry out an effective ministry, as it is the means by which God’s people align their will with his.
The brief account relayed in the book of Nehemiah exhibits a man whose life was steeped in prayer. In response to Jerusalem’s disgraceful condition, Nehemiah spent four months in intensive intercessory prayer (cp. Neh 1:1; 2:1). His prayers included praising God for his power and covenant love, confessing the nation’s sins, and calling on God to act (1:4-11; cp. Ezra 9:6-15; Dan 9:4-19). Nehemiah based his prayer for Jerusalem on God’s “covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands” (1:5). The Israelites had not obeyed the instructions God gave to Moses (1:7), resulting in the exile of the nation as God had warned. However, Nehemiah was firmly convinced that God would keep his promise to restore the nation if the people repented (1:8-9; see Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-5).
When God presented an opening for Nehemiah to approach the Persian king about returning to Jerusalem, Nehemiah immediately prayed for God’s guidance (Neh 2:4). He knew that only God could change the king’s heart. Later, Nehemiah made a practical and balanced response to threats against those building the wall by posting guards and rallying the people, all while praying for God’s protection and strength (4:4-5, 9; 6:9, 14). He needed God’s help and blessing then and in the future as he confronted people who acted improperly.
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem after a brief visit to Persia, he found that some Jews were not contributing their tithe (13:10-12), some were not keeping the Sabbath (13:15-16), and some had married unbelievers (13:23-24). When confronting these people about their sin, Nehemiah prayed for God to have compassion on him and remember what he had done (13:14, 22, 31). Nehemiah knew that he had to depend on God’s power to transform people.
Even Jesus, who already had a keen awareness of the Father’s will, bathed his ministry in prayer (see, e.g., Luke 5:16; 6:12-16; 9:18). Following his example, the early Christians spent much time in prayer, operating with a firm belief in its effectiveness (see, e.g., 9:36-41; 12:3-11). God often responds powerfully to his people’s prayers, and believers are encouraged to pray with eager expectation (see Jas 5:16-18).
Passages for Further Study
Gen 24:10-20; Judg 15:18-20; Ezra 9:6-15; Neh 1:4-11; 2:4-5; 4:4-5, 9; Pss 18:1-30; 22:4-5, 24; 30:2-3; 31:22; 34:4; 40:1-2; 81:7; 106:1-48; 107:6-7, 13-14; 116:1; 118:5; Dan 9:4-19; Jon 2:1-10; Acts 4:24-31; Jas 5:16-18
Note 1 topic: writing-newevent
וַיְהִ֞י
and=he/it_was
Nehemiah uses this phrase to introduce the next episode in his story. You do not need to represent it this way in your translation, but use a natural way to introduce a new episode in the story. Alternate translation: “So the next thing I did”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
כְּשָׁמְעִ֣י ׀ אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה
when,heard,I DOM the,words the=these
Here words refers to the things that were described by the words. Alternate translation: “after hearing about these things”
Note 3 topic: translate-symaction
יָשַׁ֨בְתִּי֙ וָֽאֶבְכֶּ֔ה
sat_down and,wept
Sitting down likely means that Nehemiah stopped going about his usual business because he was so overcome by grief. Alternate translation: “I could do nothing else but grieve”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
וָאֶתְאַבְּלָ֖ה יָמִ֑ים
and,mourned, days
This means that Nehemiah kept on grieving. He did not get over being upset. The term “days” here suggests “many days” and it is a figurative expression for “a long time.” Alternate translation: “I could not stop mourning for a long time.”
Note 5 topic: translate-symaction
צָם֙ וּמִתְפַּלֵּ֔ל
fasting and,praying
Fasting means going without food. This was something that Jews often did in connection with prayer. It allowed them to concentrate on their prayers, and it showed how important those prayers were. Alternate translation: “I went without food, and I prayed”
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
וּמִתְפַּלֵּ֔ל לִפְנֵ֖י
and,praying to=(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before
Here face is a metonym for the action of seeing, which is a figurative way of referring to a person’s notice or attention to something. Nehemiah is saying that he prayed in order to bring these matters to God’s notice or attention. Alternate translation: “and I prayed to”
אֱלֹהֵ֥י הַשָּׁמָֽיִם
god the=heavens
Alternate translation: “God, who is in heaven”