Nehemiah 9:8-12

9:8 When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a ¹  covenant with him to give his descendants ²  the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise, ³  for you are righteous.

9:9 “You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea. ⁴  9:10 You performed awesome signs ⁵  against Pharaoh, against his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians ⁶  had acted presumptuously ⁷  against them. You made for yourself a name that is celebrated to this day. 9:11 You split the sea before them, and they crossed through ⁸  the sea on dry ground! But you threw their pursuers ⁹  into the depths, like a stone into surging ¹⁰  waters. 9:12 You guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illumine for them the path they were to travel.

[9:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the” (so NAB).

[9:8]  ² tn Heb “seed.”

[9:8]  ³ tn Heb “your words.”

[9:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Sea of Reeds.” Traditionally this is identified as the Red Sea, and the modern designation has been used in the translation for clarity.

[9:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “signs and wonders.” This phrase is a hendiadys. The second noun functions adjectivally, while the first noun retains its full nominal sense: “awesome signs” or “miraculous signs.”

[9:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:10]  ⁷ tn Or “arrogantly” (so NASB); NRSV “insolently.”

[9:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the midst of.”

[9:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “those who pursued them.”

[9:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “mighty.”