Limitless Word
So their descendants went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land. You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land, to do with them as they wished.
Nehemiah 9:24 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB “So the children went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they pleased.
  • KJV So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
  • NKJV So the people went in And possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, The Canaanites, And gave them into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might do with them as they wished.
  • NASB “So their sons entered and took possession of the land. And You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, And You handed them over to them, with their kings and the peoples of the land, To do with them as they desired.
  • NLT “They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless! Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased.

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

The children went in, possessed the land, and God subdued its inhabitants before them. It matters because the conquest was God's gift, not merely Israel's achievement.

Overview

Israel took the land because God 'subdued' its peoples and kings before them, giving them into Israel's hand. The victory was fundamentally God's doing. This stresses that salvation and inheritance come by God's power and grace, a pattern fulfilled in the triumph Christ wins for his people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Josh 21:43Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
  • Ps 44:2–3With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out.
  • Josh 11:23So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.
  • Josh 18:1Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,
  • Num 14:31But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.
  • 1 Chr 22:18“Is not the LORD your God with you, and has He not granted you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land has been subdued before the LORD and His people.
  • Josh 21:45Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.
  • 2 Tim 2:26Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Nehemiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Nehemiah 9:24YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NehemiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 9:24 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.