Nehemiah - 1:6



6 Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may listen to the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Yes, I and my father's house have sinned.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Nehemiah 1:6.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father's house have sinned:
Let thy ears be attentive, and thy eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, night and day, for the children of Israel thy servants: and I confess the sins of the children of Israel, by which they have sinned against thee: I and my father's house have sinned.
Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, confessing the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
let Thine ear be, I pray Thee, attentive, and Thine eyes open, to hearken unto the prayer of Thy servant, that I am praying before Thee to-day, by day and by night, concerning the sons of Israel Thy servants, and confessing concerning the sins of the sons of Israel, that we have sinned against Thee; yea, I and the house of my father have sinned;
Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you: both I and my father's house have sinned.
Let your ear now take note and let your eyes be open, so that you may give ear to the prayer of your servant, which I make before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel, your servants, while I put before you the sins of the children of Israel, which we have done against you: truly, I and my father's people are sinners.
may your ears be attentive, and may your eyes be open, so that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before you today, night and day, for the sons of Israel, your servants. And I am confessing the sins of the sons of Israel, which they have sinned against you. We have sinned, I and my father's house.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Let thine ear - Hear what we say and confess.
Thine eyes open - see what we suffer.

Let thine ear be now attentive,.... To his prayer, as in Nehemiah 1:11,
and thine eyes open; to behold with pity and compassion the distressed case of Jerusalem, and the Jews in it:
I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants; this he had continued to do ever since he heard of their trouble and calamity:
and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned; he considered sin as the cause of all this evil that had befallen his people, and confesses it with sorrow and humiliation, and not their sins only, but his own personal and family sins.

"Let Thine ear be attentive, and Thine eyes open," like 2-Chronicles 6:40; 2-Chronicles 7:15 - לשׁמע, that Thou mayest hearken to the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray, and how I confess concerning מתדּה still depends upon אשׁר in the sense of: and what I confess concerning the sins. היּום does not here mean to-day, but now, at this time, as the addition "day and night" compared with ימים in Nehemiah 1:4 shows. To strengthen the communicative form לך חטאנוּ, and to acknowledge before God how deeply penetrated he was by the feeling of his own sin and guilt, he adds: and I and my father's house have sinned.

Which I pray, &c. - He refers to all the prayers, which he had for some time been putting up.

*More commentary available at chapter level.


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