Nehemiah 9:16-19

9:16 “But they – our ancestors ¹  – behaved presumptuously; they rebelled ²  and did not obey your commandments. 9:17 They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. ³  But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love. ⁴  You did not abandon them, 9:18 even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious ⁵  blasphemies.

9:19 “Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day, ⁶  nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel.

Nehemiah 9:29-31

9:29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances – those by which an individual, if he obeys them, ⁷  will live. They boldly turned from you; ⁸  they rebelled ⁹  and did not obey. 9:30 You prolonged your kindness ¹⁰  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ¹¹  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ¹²  9:31 However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.

¹ tn Heb “and our fathers.” The vav is explicative.

² tn Heb “they stiffened their neck” (so also in the following verse).

³ tc The present translation follows a few medieval Hebrew MSS and the LXX in reading בְּמִצְרָיִם (bÿmitsrayim, “in Egypt”; so also NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT) rather than the MT reading בְּמִרְיָם (bÿmiryam, “in their rebellion”).

⁴ tc The translation follows the Qere reading חֶסֶד (khesed, “loyal love”) rather than the Kethib reading וְחֶסֶד (vÿkhesed, “and loyal love”) of the MT.

⁵ tn Heb “great.”

⁷ tn Heb “did not turn from them by day to guide them in the path.”

⁹ tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

¹⁰ tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”

¹¹ tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”

¹¹ tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

¹³ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”