Then I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
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.
- BSB When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry,
- NKJV And I became 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 contended with them, and cursed them, and struck certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves.
- Exod 11:8All these servants of yours will come down to me, and bow down themselves to me, saying, “Get out, with all the people who follow you”; and after that I will go out.’” He went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
- Eph 4:26“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,
- Num 16:15Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”
- Neh 13:8It grieved me severely. Therefore I threw all Tobiah’s household stuff out of the room.
- Mark 3:5When he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other.
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.