Nehemiah 9:11

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) Nehemiah 9:11 appears in the Hebrew Old Testament. The text above is from the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Each word links to its Strong’s number, a concise gloss, and parsing drawn from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible morphology. Click any word for its full Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) entry.
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Nehemiah 9:11 (World English Bible). Public Domain. Lemma interlinear Bible study tool, https://lemma.gebible.app/v/nehemiah/9/11.

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English Translation
You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers you did cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
World English Bible · Public Domain
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Compare translations 3

The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.

Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.

Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers you did cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And you split open the sea before their face, and they passed through the midst of the sea on the dry land. And you cast their pursuers into the depths, like a stone in mighty waters.

unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).

Versions to compare (up to 4)

3 of 4 selected

Show all 18 translations

Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers you did cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
    You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
  • Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
    You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
    And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers thou didst cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
    And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers thou didst cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
    For thou didest breake vp the Sea before them, and they went through the middes of the Sea on dry lande: and those that pursued them, hast thou cast into the bottomes as a stone, in the mightie waters:
  • Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
    And thou didst divide the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land: but their persecutors thou threwest into the depth, as a stone into mighty waters.
  • Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
    And the sea Thou hast cleaved before them, and they pass over into the midst of the sea on the dry land, and their pursuers Thou hast cast into the depths, as a stone, into the strong waters.
  • Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    And You have cleaved the sea before them, || And they pass over into the midst of the sea on the dry land, || And their pursuers You have cast into the depths, || As a stone, into the strong waters.
  • Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
    Then you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and threw those who pursued them into the depths, as a stone into deep waters.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And you split open the sea before their face, and they passed through the midst of the sea on the dry land. And you cast their pursuers into the depths, like a stone in mighty waters.
  • Darby Bible Public Domain
    And thou didst divide the sea before them, and they went through the midst of the sea on dry [ground]; and their pursuers thou threwest into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • World Messianic Bible Public Domain
    You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • Webster's Bible Public Domain
    And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
  • Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    You split the sea apart in front of them so that they could walk through it on dry ground. But you threw their pursuers into the depths of the sea, like stones thrown into raging waters.
  • Bible in Basic English Public Domain
    By you the sea was parted before them, so that they went through the sea on dry land; and those who went after them went down into the deep, like a stone into great waters.
  • JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
    And Thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers Thou didst cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.

Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).

Word by word

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בִמְצוֹלֹ֛ת
mᵉtsôwlâh
H4688
“in/at · depths”
Preposition + Noun, Common, Feminine, Plural, Absolute
Part of Speech
Preposition + Noun
Type
Common
Gender
Feminine
Number
Plural
State
Absolute
Full BDB Definition

Origin: from the same as H6683

TWOT: 1889b

depth, the deep, the deep sea
  1. וְהַיָּם֙ yâm H3220 “and · the · sea” Conjunction + Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  2. בָּקַ֣עְתָּ bâqaʻ H1234 “to split” Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular
  3. לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם pânîym H6440 “to/for · face(s) · their” Preposition + Noun, Common, Both, Plural, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural
  4. וַיַּֽעַבְר֥וּ ʻâbar H5674 “and · to pass over” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural
  5. בְתוֹךְ tâvek H8432 “in/at · midst of” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct
  6. הַיָּ֖ם yâm H3220 “the · sea” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  7. בַּיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה yabbâshâh H3004 “in/at the · dry land” Preposition, Determined + Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
  8. וְֽאֶת ʼêth H853 “and · -” Conjunction + Particle, Direct Object
  9. רֹ֨דְפֵיהֶ֜ם râdaph H7291 “pursuing · them” Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural
  10. הִשְׁלַ֧כְתָּ shâlak H7993 “to throw” Verb, Hiphil, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular
  11. כְּמוֹ kᵉmôw H3644 “like” Preposition
  12. אֶ֖בֶן ʼeben H68 “stone” Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
  13. בְּמַ֥יִם mayim H4325 “in/at · water(s)” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute
  14. עַזִּֽים ʻaz H5794 “strong” Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Plural, Absolute

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

15
words
14
distinct lemmas
Historical
section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is בִמְצוֹלֹ֛ת depth H4688 — appearing just 11 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

בִמְצוֹלֹ֛ת depth H4688 occurs in 11 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

  • 4 verbs
  • 8 nouns
  • 1 adjective
  • 1 preposition
  • 1 particle

Verb forms

  • בָּקַ֣עְתָּ Qal · Perfect
  • וַיַּֽעַבְר֥וּ Qal · Sequential Imperfect
  • רֹ֨דְפֵיהֶ֜ם Qal · Participle Active
  • הִשְׁלַ֧כְתָּ Hiphil · Perfect

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

  • וְהַיָּם֙ sea H3220 ×2

Cross-references

11

Topical passages linked to Nehemiah 9:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

  • Psalms 78:13 He split the sea, and caused them to pass through; He made the waters stand as a heap.
  • Exodus 14:21–22 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
  • Exodus 14:27–28 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it. Yahweh overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
  • Psalms 66:6 He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot. There, we rejoiced in him.
  • Psalms 106:9–11 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; So he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
  • Psalms 114:3–5 The sea saw it, and fled. The Jordan was driven back.
  • Psalms 136:13–15 To him who divided the Red Sea apart; For his loving kindness endures forever;
  • Isaiah 63:11–13 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses [and] his people, [saying], Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? where is he who put his holy Spirit in the midst of them?
  • Hebrews 11:29 By faith, they passed through the Red sea as on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up.
  • Exodus 15:1–21 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, and said, "I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
  • Revelation 18:21 A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, and will be found no more at all.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Nehemiah 9:11 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְהַיָּם֙ בָּקַ֣עְתָּ לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיַּֽעַבְר֥וּ בְתוֹךְ הַיָּ֖ם בַּיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה וְֽאֶת רֹ֨דְפֵיהֶ֜ם הִשְׁלַ֧כְתָּ בִמְצוֹלֹ֛ת כְּמוֹ אֶ֖בֶן בְּמַ֥יִם עַזִּֽים

You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers you did cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Structure differs

The Septuagint has no separate book of Nehemiah. Its Greek text is the second half of Esdras B (2 Esdras), chapters 11–23; Ezra is the first half (1–10).

A verse-for-verse comparison isn’t shown here because the chapters and verses don’t line up. Switch to the LXX edition with the MT / LXX toggle above to read the Greek directly.

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from a public-domain English Septuagint. How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Commentary

Notes on Nehemiah 9:11 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Neh 9:11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

Ver. 11. And thou didst divide the sea before them] That which threatened to swallow them preserved them. "For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him," Psa 32:6.

As a stone into the mighty waters] As lead, Exo 15:10. So shall Rome (that spiritual Egypt) once sink into the bottom of the sea, as a millstone thrust into it by a mighty angel, with a most impetuous force, Rev 18:21.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) As a stone into the mighty waters—Compare the Song of Moses, and mark in the Hebrew both the identity and the variation.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

11. divide … the dry land] The description is based on Exo_14:21-22; Exo_15:19. The verbal correspondence is striking.

their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps] R.V. their pursuers thou didst cast into the depths. The poetical language of the latter part of the verse is drawn from Exo_15:4-5, ‘Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea; … they went down into the depths like a stone.’

as a stone into the mighty waters] Cf. Exo_15:5, ‘like a stone.’ 10, ‘as lead in the mighty waters.’ For the last words cf. Isa_43:16, ‘a path in the mighty waters.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land,.... That is, the Israelites, see Exo 14:21,

and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps; with great ease, and with indignation, meaning the Egyptians, that pursued hotly after them, and were thrown into the sea:

as a stone into the mighty waters; where they sunk and perished, see Exo 15:4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Into the mighty waters, i.e. the deep waters, such as these were, into which, when a stone is thrown, there is no hopes of seeing it again.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

As a stone. This phrase is taken from the "song of Moses". (Exo_15:5) The composer of the address has also in his mind Exo_15:10. The epithet given to the "waters" is not, however, the same, as might appear from the A.V

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

Connecting Statement:

In these verses, the Levites continue to praise Yahweh in the presence of the people of Israel.

you divided the sea

God divided

you ... threw those who pursued them into the depths, as a stone into deep waters

In this simile, the writer describes God throwing the Egyptians into the sea as easily as a person would throw a stone into water, and the stone would disappear under the water completely. (See: Simile)

translationWords

stone

water

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Nehemiah, in the Historical, opens this verse with 15 words (14 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is mᵉtsôwlâh (“depth”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

  1. What does “depth” (mᵉtsôwlâh) contribute to the verse as a whole?
  2. Exodus 15:5 shares the word «depth» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
  3. “sea” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
  4. These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
  5. The verb «בָּקַ֣עְתָּ» is Qal Perfect. How does its form color the action?
  6. Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

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Old Testament
Old Testament edition

Read the OT as the Masoretic Hebrew (MT) or the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

English shown for the Greek Septuagint (in the Hebrew ↔ Greek comparison).

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