So here we are today as slaves in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness—here we are as slaves!
Parallel translations
- WEB “Behold, we are servants today, and as for the land that you gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its good, behold, we are servants in it.
- KJV Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:
- NKJV “Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it!
- NASB “Behold, we are slaves today, And as for the land which You gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its bounty, Behold, we are slaves on it.
- NLT “So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land.
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
They confess that they are now servants in the very land God gave their fathers. It matters because it names their painful condition of subjection despite living in the promised land.
Overview
Though restored to the land, the people are 'servants' under Persian rule, eating its fruit yet not free. Their bondage is the bitter consequence of generations of sin. This honest lament of unredeemed servitude heightens longing for true freedom, which Christ alone provides, freeing his people from the deeper slavery of sin (John 8:34-36).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ezra 9:9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
- Deut 28:48you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
- 2 Chr 12:8Nevertheless, they will become his servants, so that they may learn the difference between serving Me and serving the kings of other lands.”
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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 9:36 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.