Nehemiah 9 25

Nehemiah 9:25 kjv

And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

Nehemiah 9:25 nkjv

And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

Nehemiah 9:25 niv

They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.

Nehemiah 9:25 esv

And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.

Nehemiah 9:25 nlt

Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.

Nehemiah 9 verses

Nehemiah 9 25 Meaning

Nehemiah 9:25 describes the extraordinary and effortless abundance God bestowed upon the Israelites as they entered and possessed the Promised Land. They found pre-existing wealth—fortified cities, fertile ground, fully furnished houses, ready-made cisterns, and lush agricultural resources—all without their own labor. This divine provision resulted in physical satiety and delight in God’s immense goodness, yet it implicitly sets the stage for their subsequent spiritual complacency and disobedience, a pattern recurring throughout Israel's history recounted in this prayer.

Nehemiah 9 25 Context

Nehemiah 9:25 is part of a grand confessional prayer led by the Levites during the post-exilic return, following the reading of the Law and the celebration of the Feast of Booths (Sukkot). The prayer (Neh 9:5-38) comprehensively reviews Israel's history from Abraham through the wilderness wanderings, the conquest of Canaan, the periods of the judges and kings, down to the Babylonian exile and their present state. The prayer's central theme is God's unwavering faithfulness, even in the face of Israel's repeated rebellion and ingratitude. Verse 25 highlights the zenith of God's material provision upon Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, presenting a picture of overwhelming ease and abundance. This depiction of immense divine blessing then sets up the dramatic contrast with Israel's subsequent turning away from God, serving as a powerful demonstration of their sin and God's sustained mercy. The overall purpose of the prayer is to acknowledge their historical disobedience, confess their corporate sin, and recommit to God's covenant in a humble and grateful manner, acknowledging God's past mercies as a foundation for future hope.

Nehemiah 9 25 Word analysis

• And they captured fortified cities: Hebrew: וַיִּלְכְּדוּ עָרִים בְּצֻרוֹת (vayyilkh'du 'arim betzurot).

  • Captured: Implies a military action, yet the following description suggests the ease with which God handed them over. The strength of the cities ("fortified," lit. "cut off" or "inaccessible") highlights the miraculous nature of their acquisition.
  • Fortified cities: Signified powerful strongholds, which by human might would be incredibly difficult to conquer. This emphasizes God’s enablement, fulfilling His promise to give them a land already subdued.

• and a rich land: Hebrew: וַאֲדָמָה שְׁמֵנָה (va'adamah sh'menah).

  • Rich land: Lit. "fat land" or "fertile land." Denotes a land overflowing with productivity and resources. This contrasts with arid, barren lands, highlighting divine generosity beyond mere subsistence.

• and took possession of houses full of all good things: Hebrew: בָּתִּים מְלֵאִים כָּל-טוּב (battim mele'im kol-tuv).

  • Took possession: Indicates not needing to build or furnish, but simply inheriting.
  • Full of all good things: Signifies complete domestic provision—furniture, food, utensils, supplies. It implies a total lack of effort in acquiring these necessities, which were typically the fruit of hard labor for any establishing population. This signifies God’s complete readiness of the land for His people.

• cisterns already dug: Hebrew: בֹּרוֹת חֲצוּבִים (borot chatzuvim).

  • Cisterns: Essential for survival in a land with seasonal rainfall.
  • Already dug: Emphasizes divine foresight and provision; these were not labors the Israelites had to undertake, which required immense effort, especially carving them out of rock. This speaks of ease and comfort without sweat.

• vineyards, olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance: Hebrew: כְּרָמִים זֵיתִים וְעֵץ מַאֲכָל לָרֹב (kramim zeitím v'eitz ma'akal larov).

  • Vineyards, olive orchards: Core elements of the ancient Israelite diet and economy, signifying long-term investment.
  • Fruit trees in abundance: larov means "in great quantity" or "in superfluity." Not just a few trees, but vast, mature, fruit-bearing orchards. This is indicative of immense agricultural prosperity and the removal of the need for long waiting periods.

• so they ate and were filled and became fat: Hebrew: וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׂבְּעוּ וַיַּשְׁמִינוּ (vayyokhlu vayyisb'u vayyashmínu).

  • Ate and were filled: Describes complete satiety.
  • Became fat: In many ancient Near Eastern contexts, "fatness" was a sign of prosperity, health, and well-being. However, in the biblical narrative, particularly in Deuteronomic and prophetic literature (e.g., Deut 32:15), it frequently carries a secondary, ominous meaning when linked with spiritual state: over-indulgence and physical comfort leading to spiritual complacency, pride, and forgetting God. In Nehemiah 9, positioned just before verses detailing Israel's rebellion, this phrase serves as a powerful theological pivot, hinting at the dangerous side effect of extreme material blessing on the human heart.

• and delighted themselves in Your great goodness: Hebrew: וַיִּתְעַדְּנוּ בְּטוּבְךָ הַגָּדוֹל (vayyit'adnu b'tuvkha haggadol).

  • Delighted themselves: vayyit'adnu suggests living in luxury, taking pleasure, even indulging in exquisite delight. This describes not just meeting needs, but experiencing true abundance and pleasure.
  • In Your great goodness: Explicitly attributes the source of all this prosperity and enjoyment directly to God's unparalleled generosity and benevolence (tuvkha haggadol). This crucial acknowledgment underlines that the blessings were divine gifts, not achieved by Israel's might or wisdom, making their subsequent rebellion even more grievous.

• Words-group by words-group analysis:

  • "captured fortified cities and a rich land": This phrase immediately establishes the scale of God's provision. It wasn't merely bare land, but territory with significant existing infrastructure and natural fertility, implying immediate settlement and productivity without the monumental effort of pioneering. This divine hand makes an otherwise insurmountable military task seem effortless.
  • "took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance": This litany of inherited assets underscores the comprehensive nature of God's provision. It highlights a divine foresight that provided not just the essentials for survival, but the luxuries for thriving. Everything necessary for a settled, prosperous life, typically the result of generations of labor, was granted to them instantly.
  • "so they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in Your great goodness": This sequence illustrates the human response to such overwhelming blessing. From basic sustenance ("ate and were filled") to lavish indulgence ("became fat," "delighted themselves"), it culminates in enjoying the sheer abundance. Crucially, the final attribution to "Your great goodness" anchors the experience in divine generosity, which ironically, then serves as a precursor to their falling away. The "became fat" phrase acts as a pivot, carrying both positive connotation of health and prosperity and negative one of spiritual sluggishness that can follow immense material comfort, foreshadowing their forgetfulness of God.

Nehemiah 9 25 Bonus section

This verse is a prime example of "inherited blessing" in biblical theology, where God's promises and prior work lay the foundation for the people's immediate benefit. It shows a divine economy where preparation often precedes reception, allowing recipients to bypass much toil. The specific mention of "cisterns already dug" and "houses full of good things" highlights a radical reversal of the typical human struggle for survival; here, ease is the rule. This passage serves as a theological statement not only on God's benevolence but also on human nature's susceptibility to becoming complacent or self-sufficient when abundantly blessed, echoing the Deuteronomic warning that prosperity can lead to forgetting God (Deut 8:11-14). The entire recounting of history in Nehemiah 9 underlines the persistent tension between God's steadfast grace and humanity's propensity for rebellion, with this verse illustrating the high point of God's overflowing provision that makes the subsequent sin appear even more stark.

Nehemiah 9 25 Commentary

Nehemiah 9:25 is a powerful testament to God's overflowing generosity and preparedness for His people. It vividly portrays the ease with which Israel acquired immense wealth in Canaan—not by their labor or conquest prowess alone, but by inheriting fully established cities, furnished homes, developed agriculture, and essential water systems. This complete, pre-prepared provision, leading to satiety and delight, was a tangible expression of God's "great goodness." Yet, within the context of the larger prayer, this peak of divine blessing subtly hints at a theological irony: such profound material prosperity often preceded Israel's spiritual decline. The phrase "became fat" serves as a crucial bridge, carrying both a literal meaning of flourishing and a metaphorical foreshadowing of complacency that could lead to forgetting the very God who gave such gifts. The verse sets the stage for the prayer's subsequent indictment of Israel's unfaithfulness, amplifying the extent of their ingratitude in light of God's unmatched kindness. It warns against allowing abundant blessings to dull one's spiritual senses or cause forgetfulness of the divine Provider.