Nehemiah 9:29

You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They turned a stubborn shoulder; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Levitical assembly speaks to God, recounting Israel’s recurring cycle of warning and rebellion. The prayer addresses God directly as He repeatedly urges the people to return to His law while they persist in disobedience.

The words — The Hebrew verbs הֵזִידוּ (he.Zi.du) and שָׁמְעוּ (sha.me.u) denote acting presumptuously and refusing to listen. These terms frame the people’s deliberate rejection of the Torah (תּוֹרָתֶךָ, to.ra.te.kha) despite explicit divine warning.

The thread — The passage restates the obedience principle of Leviticus 18:5 and repeats the stiff-necked rebellion motif of Nehemiah 9:16. It sits between Nehemiah 9:28 and 9:30, which detail God’s repeated deliverance and prophetic admonition amid the same pattern of refusal.

Why it lands — The text records that repeated warning does not compel compliance, only reveals willful resistance. It requires the reader to acknowledge that commandments carry life-or-death stakes and that rebellion is a conscious choice against known instruction.

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

וַתָּ֨עַדva./Ta.'adand/ you warnedבָּהֶ֜םba./Hem<in>/ themלַהֲשִׁיבָ֣םla./ha.shi.Va/mto/ bring back/ them אֶל־'el-to תּוֹרָתֶ֗ךָto.ra.Te./khalaw/ your וְהֵ֨מָּהve./He.mahand/ they הֵזִ֜ידוּhe.Zi.duthey acted presumptuously וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not שָׁמְע֤וּsha.me.'Uthey listened לְמִצְוֹתֶ֙יךָ֙le./mitz.vo.Tei./khato/ commandments/ your וּבְמִשְׁפָּטֶ֣יךָu./ve./mish.pa.Tei./khaand/ in/ judgments/ your חָֽטְאוּ־cha.te.'u-they sinnedבָ֔םVa/min/ themאֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-which יַעֲשֶׂ֥הya.'a.Sehhe will do אָדָ֖ם'a.Damanyone וְחָיָ֣הve./cha.Yahand/ he will liveבָהֶ֑םva./Hemby/ themוַיִּתְּנ֤וּva/i.yi.te.Nuand/ they gave כָתֵף֙kha.Tefa shoulder סוֹרֶ֔רֶתso.Re.retstubborn וְעָרְפָּ֥םve./'a.re.Pa/mand/ neck/ their הִקְשׁ֖וּhik.Shuthey stiffened וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not שָׁמֵֽעוּ׃sha.Me.'uthey listened

King James Version

And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

Cross-references

Leviticus 18:5 Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
Nehemiah 9:16 But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments.
Nehemiah 9:10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the people of his land, for You knew they had acted with arrogance against our fathers. You made a name for Yourself that endures to this day.
Nehemiah 9:26 But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
Jeremiah 43:2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to reside there.’
Hosea 6:5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.
Zechariah 7:11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
James 4:6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
Deuteronomy 4:26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.