When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry,
Parallel translations
- WEB I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
- KJV And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
- NKJV And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
- NASB Then I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
- NLT When I heard their complaints, I was very angry.
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 is filled with righteous anger when he hears their cry. His indignation is a response to real injustice.
Overview
Nehemiah's anger is not rash temper but holy outrage at the oppression of God's people. Scripture distinguishes such righteous anger, which mirrors God's hatred of injustice, from sinful wrath. His response models how godly leaders should feel and act when confronted with the exploitation of the vulnerable.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Neh 13:25I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!
- Exod 11:8And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.” And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s presence.
- Eph 4:26“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
- Num 16:15Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
- Neh 13:8And I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room.
- Mark 3:5Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.
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 5:6 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.