Nehemiah 9:36

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:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Nehemiah 9:36. Behold, we are servants in the land — In that land wherein heretofore, under thee, and by thy favour, we were rightful lords and owners. God had, indeed, marvellously restored them to their own country; yet the marks of his displeasure for their sins still remained very visible: for they were tributary unto others, and not free owners and proprietors of the land which God had given to their fathers.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

9:4-38 The summary of their prayers we have here upon record. Much more, no doubt, was said. Whatever ability we have to do any thing in the way of duty, we are to serve and glorify God according to the utmost of it. When confessing our sins, it is good to notice the mercies of God, that we may be the more humbled and ashamed. The dealings of the Lord showed his goodness and long-suffering, and the hardness of their hearts. The testimony of the prophets was the testimony of the Spirit in the prophets, and it was the Spirit of Christ in them. They spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and what they said is to be received accordingly. The result was, wonder at the Lord's mercies, and the feeling that sin had brought them to their present state, from which nothing but unmerited love could rescue them. And is not their conduct a specimen of human nature? Let us study the history of our land, and our own history. Let us recollect our advantages from childhood, and ask what were our first returns? Let us frequently do so, that we may be kept humble, thankful, and watchful. Let all remember that pride and obstinacy are sins which ruin the soul. But it is often as hard to persuade the broken-hearted to hope, as formerly it was to bring them to fear. Is this thy case? Behold this sweet promise, A God ready to pardon! Instead of keeping away from God under a sense of unworthiness, let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. He is a God ready to pardon.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou gavest them saviours - See Judges 3:15 etc.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

36. Behold, we are servants this day—Notwithstanding their happy restoration to their native land, they were still tributaries of a foreign prince whose officers ruled them. They were not, like their fathers, free tenants of the land which God gave them.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

In that land wherein heretofore, under thee, and by thy favour, we were rightful lords and owners.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Behold, we are servants this day,.... For though they had leave to return to their land, and rebuild their city and temple, yet they were still in subjection to the kings of Persia:

and for the land thou gavest unto our fathers, to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it; though the rightful owners and proprietors of it by the gift of God to their ancestors, to hold it and enjoy the good of it, and yet were obliged to pay tribute for it to the kings of Persia, all excepting priests and Levites; see Ezra 6:8.

Geneva Study Bible

Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the {m} fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:

(m) That is, to be the Lord's.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

36, 37. Israel’s present humiliation: her children slaves, her land subject to foreign kings, who oppress it

36. servants] i.e. subject to Persian supremacy. Cf. Ezra’s very similar words in his confession, Ezra 9:9.

for the land] R.V. as for the land.

behold, we are servants] Repeated for emphasis. Israel who should have been mistress of the promised land is a bondservant in it.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 36. - We are servants this day. i.e. we have now no kingdom, we are slaves - the Persian is our master. As we would not be God's servants, we are handed over to him (comp. 2 Chronicles 12:8, where "the service of God" and "the service of the kingdoms of the countries" are contrasted). Nehemiah 9:36

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

(Nehemiah 10:1)

הם are the fathers who were not brought to repentance by God's goodness. בּמלכוּתם, in their independent kingdom. הרב טוּבך, Thy much good, i.e., the fulness of Thy goodness, or "in the midst of Thy great blessing" (Bertheau). The predicate הרחבה, the wide, extensive country, is derived from Exodus 3:8. In Nehemiah 9:36., the prayer that God would not lightly regard the trouble of His people, is supported by a statement of the need and affliction in which they still are. They are bondmen in the land which God gave to their fathers as a free people, bondmen of the Persian monarchs; and the increase of the land which God appointed for His people belongs to the kings who rule over them. The rulers of the land dispose of their bodies and their cattle, by carrying off both men and cattle for their use, e.g., for military service. כּרצונם like Nehemiah 9:24.