NEH 1:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki: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).

BrTr 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.

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.

WEBBE When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned several days; and I fasted and prayed before the God[fn] of heaven,

1:4 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

MSG When I heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying 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.

NAB When I heard this report, I began to weep and continued mourning for several days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

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,

Moff No Moff 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.

Drby 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 [fn]God of the heavens,

1.4 Elohim

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,

Wbstr 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,

KJB-1769 ¶ 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,

KJB-1611 ¶ And it came to passe when I heard these words, that I sate downe and wept, and mourned certaine dayes, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heauen,
(¶ And it came to pass when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certaine days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,)

Bshps 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,)

Gnva 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, )

Cvdl 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,)

Wycl 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 herd such words, I sat and wept, and morenede many days, and I fastide, and prayed before the face of God of heaven;)

Luth 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 such words heard, sat I and cried and wore sorrow zween days; and fastete and prayed before/in_front_of to_him God from_the heaven)

ClVg Cumque audissem verba hujuscemodi, sedi, et flevi, et luxi diebus multis: jejunabam, et orabam ante faciem Dei cæli:[fn]
(Cumque audissem words huyuscemodi, sedi, and flevi, and lighti days multis: yeyunabam, and orabam before face of_God cæli: )

1.4 Flevi et luxi. Si vir sanctus audiens destructa lignorum et lapidum ædificia recte lugebat, jejunabat, et orabat, diu sedens in tristitia, quanto magis in destructione et ruina animarum continuis luctibus, et orationibus est insistendum, ut miserante Deo ad pristinam erigantur sospitatem, qui in opprobrio religionis triumphante inimico jacebant diutina vitiorum sorde squalentes.

1.4 Flevi and lighti. When/But_if man sanctus audiens destructa lignorum and lapidum ædificia recte lugebat, yeyunabat, and orabat, diu sitting in tristitia, quanto magis in destructione and ruina animarum continuis luctibus, and orationibus it_is insistendum, as miserante Deo to pristinam erigantur sospitatem, who in opprobrio religionis triumphante inimico yacebant diutina vitiorum sorde squalentes.

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

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

UTN uW Translation Notes:

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”

Parallel NEH 1:4