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Thursday, September 11th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Contemporary English Version

Nehemiah 9:19

Because of your great mercy, you never abandoned them in the desert. And you always guided them with a cloud by day and a fire at night.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Cloud;   God Continued...;   Repentance;   Sin;   Thankfulness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Guidance, Divine;   The Topic Concordance - Forsaking;   Giving and Gifts;   God;   Guidance;   Holy Spirit;   Mercy;   Teaching;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Cloud of Glory;   Prayer, Public;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ezra;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Mercy;   Providence of God;   Time;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Prayer;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ezra, Book of;   Mercy, Merciful;   Nehemiah;   Pillar of Cloud and Fire;   Providence;   Salvation;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Canon of the Old Testament;   Ezra;   Ezra, Book of;   Nehemiah, Book of;   Prayer;   Synagogue;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Cloud;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Wilderness;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Prayer;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cloud;   Manifold;   Providence;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Cloud, Pillar of;   Pillar of Fire;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
you did not abandon them in the wildernessbecause of your great compassion.During the day the pillar of cloudnever turned away from them,guiding them on their journey.And during the night the pillar of fireilluminated the way they should go.
Hebrew Names Version
yet you in your manifold mercies didn't forsake them in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud didn't depart from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go.
King James Version
Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
English Standard Version
you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go.
New Century Version
"You have great mercy, so you did not leave them in the desert. The pillar of cloud guided them by day, and the pillar of fire led them at night, lighting the way they were to go.
New English Translation
"Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day, nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel.
Amplified Bible
You, in Your great mercy and compassion, Did not abandon them in the wilderness; The pillar of the cloud did not leave them by day, To lead them in the way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go.
New American Standard Bible
You, in Your great compassion, Did not abandon them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, To guide them on their way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.
World English Bible
yet you in your manifold mercies didn't forsake them in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud didn't depart from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Yet thou for thy great mercies forsookest them not in the wildernesse: the pillar of the cloude departed not from them by day to leade them the way, neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way whereby they should goe.
Legacy Standard Bible
But You, in Your abundant compassion,Did not forsake them in the wilderness;The pillar of cloud did not depart from them by day,To lead them on their way,Nor the pillar of fire by night,To light for them the way in which they were to go.
Berean Standard Bible
You, because of Your great compassion, did not forsake them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud never turned away from guiding them on their path; and by the night the pillar of fire illuminated the way they should go.
Complete Jewish Bible
still, you, in your great compassion, did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud did not leave them by day; it kept leading them along the way. By night the column of fire kept showing them light and the path to take.
Darby Translation
yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them on the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
Easy-to-Read Version
You are very kind, so you didn't leave them in the desert. You didn't take the tall cloud away from them by day. You continued to lead them. You didn't take the column of fire away from them at night. You continued to light their path and to show them which way to go.
George Lamsa Translation
Yet thou in thy manifold mercies didst not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them on their journey; neither the pillar of fire by night, to lighten the way by which they should go.
Good News Translation
But you did not abandon them there in the desert, for your mercy is great. You did not take away the cloud or the fire that showed them the path by day and night.
Lexham English Bible
But you in your many mercies did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud that was over them in the day did not cease to leave them on the way, and the column of fire by night that gave light to them on the way that they went.
Literal Translation
yet You in Your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud did not depart from them by day to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
yet forsokest thou them not in the wyldernes, acordinge to thy greate mercy. And ye cloudy piler departed not from them on ye dayetyme to lede them the waye, nether the piler of fyre in the night season, to shewe them lighte in the waye that they wente.
American Standard Version
yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go.
Bible in Basic English
Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the waste land: the pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Yet forsookest thou them not in the wildernesse, according to thy great mercies: And the cloudy piller departed not from them on the day time to leade the the way, neither the piller of fire in the night season, to shewe them light in the way by which they should go.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
yet Thou in Thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go.
King James Version (1611)
Yet thou, in thy manifold mercies, forsookest them not in the wildernesse: the pillar of the cloude departed not from them by day, to leade them in the way, neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherin they should goe.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Yet thou in thy great compassions didst not forsake them in the wilderness: thou didst not turn away from them the pillar of the cloud by day, to guide them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to enlighten for them the way wherein they should walk.
English Revised Version
yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But thou in thi many mercyes leftist not hem in deseert; for a piler of cloude yede not awei fro hem bi the dai, that it schulde lede hem in to the weie; and a piler of fier yede not awei `fro hem bi nyyt, that it schulde schewe to hem the weie, bi which thei schulden entre.
Update Bible Version
yet you in your manifold mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud did not depart from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go.
Webster's Bible Translation
Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go.
New King James Version
Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.
New Living Translation
"But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night.
New Life Bible
But You, in Your great loving-kindness, did not leave them in the desert. The pillar of cloud which led them on their way during the day did not leave them. And the pillar of fire which gave light to the way they were to go during the night did not leave them.
New Revised Standard
you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud that led them in the way did not leave them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night that gave them light on the way by which they should go.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
yet, thou, in thine abounding compassions, didst not forsake them in the desert, - the pillar of cloud, departed not from over them by day, to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light up for them the way wherein they should go.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Yet thou, in thy many mercies, didst not leave them in the desert: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them in the way, and the pillar of fire by night to shew them the way by which they should go.
Revised Standard Version
thou in thy great mercies didst not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud which led them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night which lighted for them the way by which they should go.
Young's Literal Translation
and Thou, in Thine abundant mercies, hast not forsaken them in the wilderness -- the pillar of the cloud hath not turned aside from off them by day, to lead them in the way, and the pillar of the fire by night, to give light to them and the way in which they go.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
You, in Your great compassion, Did not forsake them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, To guide them on their way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.

Contextual Overview

4 Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the special platform for the Levites and prayed aloud to the Lord their God. 5 Then the Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said: "Stand and shout praises to your Lord , the eternal God! Praise his wonderful name, though he is greater than words can express." 6 You alone are the Lord , Creator of the heavens and all the stars, Creator of the earth and those who live on it, Creator of the ocean and all its creatures. You are the source of life, praised by the stars that fill the heavens. 7 You are the Lord our God, the one who chose Abram— you brought him from Ur in Babylonia and named him Abraham. 8 Because he was faithful, you made an agreement to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, and of the Jebusites and Girgashites. Now you have kept your promise, just as you always do. 9 When our ancestors were in Egypt, you saw their suffering; when they were at the Red Sea, you heard their cry for help. 10 You knew that the King of Egypt and his officials and his nation had mistreated your people. So you worked fearsome miracles against the Egyptians and earned a reputation that still remains. 11 You divided the deep sea, and your people walked through on dry land. But you tossed their enemies in, and they sank down like a heavy stone. 12 Each day you led your people with a thick cloud, and at night you showed the way with a flaming fire. 13 At Sinai you came down from heaven, and you gave your people good laws and teachings that are fair and honest.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in thy: Nehemiah 9:27, 1 Samuel 12:22, Psalms 106:7, Psalms 106:8, Psalms 106:45, Isaiah 44:21, Lamentations 3:22, Ezekiel 20:14, Ezekiel 20:22, Daniel 9:9, Daniel 9:18, Malachi 3:6

the pillar: Nehemiah 9:12, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 13:22, Exodus 40:38, Numbers 9:15-22, Numbers 14:14, Isaiah 4:5, Isaiah 4:6, 1 Corinthians 10:1, 1 Corinthians 10:2

Reciprocal: Exodus 40:36 - when Numbers 9:16 - General Numbers 9:21 - abode Numbers 10:34 - General Deuteronomy 32:10 - found Psalms 25:6 - for they Psalms 31:3 - lead Psalms 78:14 - General Psalms 105:39 - spread Psalms 136:16 - General Isaiah 63:7 - mention Ezekiel 20:17 - mine Hosea 3:1 - according

Cross-References

Genesis 5:32
After Noah was five hundred years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis 8:17
Let out the birds, animals, and reptiles, so they can mate and live all over the earth."
Genesis 9:2
All animals, birds, reptiles, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them under your control,
Genesis 9:4
But life is in the blood, and you must not eat any meat that still has blood in it.
Genesis 9:28
Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness,.... Where no supply could be had, if he had cast them off, see Nehemiah 9:17,

the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; which, if it had, they would have been scorched by the heat of the sun:

neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go; or otherwise they would have lost their way, and not have known which way to have gone.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Nehemiah 9:19. The pillar of the cloud departed not from them — מעליהם mealeyhem, "from over them." I have already had occasion to observe that this miraculous cloud, the symbol of the Divine presence, assumed three different positions while accompanying the Israelitish camp:

1. As a cloud in the form of a pillar, it went before them when they journey, to point out their way in the wilderness.

2. As a pillar of fire, it continued with them during the night, to give them light, and be a rallying point for the whole camp in the night season.

3. As an extended cloud, it hovered over them in their encampments, to refresh them with its dews, and to keep them from the ardours of the sun.


 
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