Bible Strands
Nehemiah 8:6
Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and with their hands uplifted, all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ezra stands before the assembled people after opening the book of the Law and pronounces a blessing upon Yahweh as the great God. The entire congregation responds in unison while standing in their places.
The words — וַ/יְבָ֣רֶךְ (va/y.Va.rekh) literally means "and he blessed," initiating the liturgical response, while וַ/יַּֽעֲנ֨וּ (va/i.ya.'a.Nu) means "and they answered," marking the people's collective reply.
The thread — The posture of lifted hands in corporate worship echoes the instruction to lift holy hands in 1 Timothy 2:8 and the call to lift hearts and hands to God in Lamentations 3:41. The subsequent prostration aligns with the people's reaction in Exodus 4:31 when they witnessed God's attention to their affliction.
Why it lands — The text demands a concrete response to the reading of Scripture, moving from verbal affirmation to physical prostration. It requires the reader to recognize that hearing the Word should produce immediate, unified worship rather than passive observation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Cross-references
- 1 Timothy 2:8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.
- Lamentations 3:41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
- Exodus 4:31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
- 2 Chronicles 20:18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed facedown, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down before the LORD to worship Him.
- Revelation 7:11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,
- Genesis 24:26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
- Nehemiah 5:13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.
- Psalms 134:2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the LORD!
- Exodus 12:27 you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
- Leviticus 9:24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.