Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses when You said, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,
Parallel translations
- WEB “Remember, I beg you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you trespass, I will scatter you among the peoples;
- KJV Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
- NKJV Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;
- NASB Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples;
- NLT “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Nehemiah appeals to God's word to Moses, recalling the warning that unfaithfulness would scatter Israel among the nations. He prays God's own promises back to Him.
Overview
Citing the covenant terms of Deuteronomy, Nehemiah reminds God—and himself—that the scattering of exile was exactly what God had foretold for disobedience. Far from accusing God, this shows that the LORD had been faithful even in judgment. Praying on the basis of Scripture is a mark of mature faith, holding God to the very promises He delights to keep.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 28:64Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
- Deut 4:25–27After you have children and grandchildren and you have been in the land a long time, if you then act corruptly and make an idol of any form—doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and provoking Him to anger—
- Lev 26:33–46But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- 1 Kgs 9:6–7But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods,
- Deut 32:26–28I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
- Luke 1:72to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
- Ps 119:49Remember Your word to Your servant, upon which You have given me hope.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 1:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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