Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad 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;
- BSB 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,
- 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 28:64And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
- Deut 4:25–27When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
- Lev 26:33–46And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
- 1 Kgs 9:6–7But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
- Deut 32:26–28I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
- Luke 1:72To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
- Ps 119:49Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to 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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