The Promise of Restoration (Nehemiah 1:1–11)
1 DBY And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt take them to heart among all the nations whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee, BSB BSB: “When all these things come upon you—the blessings and curses I have set before you—and you call them to mind in all the nations to which the LORD your God has banished you,
2 DBY and shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy sons, with all thy heart and with all thy soul; BSB BSB: and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey His voice with all your heart and all your soul according to everything I am giving you today,
3 DBY that then Jehovah thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will gather thee again from all the peoples whither Jehovah thy God hath scattered thee. BSB BSB: then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you.
4 DBY Though there were of you driven out unto the end of the heavens, from thence will Jehovah thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee; BSB BSB: Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there.
5 DBY and Jehovah thy God will bring thee into the land that thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. BSB BSB: And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers.
6 DBY And Jehovah thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. BSB BSB: The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
7 DBY And Jehovah thy God will put all these curses on thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, who have persecuted thee. BSB BSB: Then the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies who hate you and persecute you.
8 DBY But thou shalt return and hearken to the voice of Jehovah, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. BSB BSB: And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and follow all His commandments I am giving you today.
9 DBY And Jehovah thy God will make thee abound in every work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, for good; for Jehovah will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers; BSB BSB: So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers,
10 DBY if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn to Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. BSB BSB: if you obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life or Death 11 DBY For this commandment which I command thee this day is not too wonderful for thee, neither is it far off. BSB BSB: For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
12 DBY It is not in the heavens, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to the heavens, and bring it to us, that we should hear it and do it? BSB BSB: It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’
13 DBY And it is not beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we should hear it and do it? BSB BSB: And it is not beyond the sea, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’
14 DBY For the word is very near to thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. BSB BSB: But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.
15 DBY See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil, BSB BSB: See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, as well as death and disaster.
16 DBY in that I command thee this day to love Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, that thou mayest live and multiply, and that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. BSB BSB: For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and increase, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
17 DBY But if thy heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and thou shalt bow down to other gods and serve them; BSB BSB: But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
18 DBY I denounce unto you this day that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days upon the land whereunto thou passest over the Jordan to possess it. BSB BSB: I declare to you today that you will surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
19 DBY I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you: life and death have I set before you, blessing and cursing: choose then life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed, BSB BSB: I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,
20 DBY in loving Jehovah thy God, in hearkening to his voice, and in cleaving to him — for this is thy life and the length of thy days — that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. BSB BSB: and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
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