Nehemiah 9:15

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) Nehemiah 9:15 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 9:15 (World English Bible). Public Domain. Lemma interlinear Bible study tool, https://lemma.gebible.app/v/nehemiah/9/15.

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and gave them bread from the sky for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commanded those who they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them.
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
    and gave them bread from the sky for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commanded those who they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And you gave to them bread from heaven for their hunger, and you brought out for them water from a rock for their thirst. And you said to them to go in to possess the land that you had raised your hand to give to them.

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
    and gave them bread from the sky for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commanded those who they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them.
  • Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
    In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land which You had sworn to give them.
  • Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
    In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land that You had sworn to give them.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
  • American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
    and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commandedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
  • Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
    and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commandedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst lifted up thine hand to give them.
  • Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
    And gauest them bread from heauen for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rocke for their thirst: and promisedst them that they shoulde goe in, and take possession of the land: for the which thou haddest lift vp thine hand for to giue them.
  • Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
    And thou gavest them bread from heaven in their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock in their thirst, and thou saidst to them that they should go in, and possess the land, upon which thou hadst lifted up thy hand to give it them.
  • Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
    and bread from the heavens Thou hast given to them for their hunger, and water from a rock hast brought out to them for their thirst, and dost say to them to go in to possess the land that Thou hast lifted up Thy hand to give to them.
  • Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    And bread from the heavens You have given to them for their hunger, || And water from a rock have brought out to them for their thirst, || And say to them to go in to possess the land || That You have lifted up Your hand to give to them.
  • Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
    You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and water from a rock for their thirst, and you said to them to go in to possess the land you swore on oath to give them.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And you gave to them bread from heaven for their hunger, and you brought out for them water from a rock for their thirst. And you said to them to go in to possess the land that you had raised your hand to give to them.
  • Darby Bible Public Domain
    And thou gavest them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and didst say to them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
  • World Messianic Bible Public Domain
    and gave them bread from the sky for their hunger, and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst, and commanded them that they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them.
  • Webster's Bible Public Domain
    And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
  • Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    When they were hungry you gave them bread from heaven, and when they were thirsty you brought water out of the rock for them. You told them to go and take ownership of the land which you had sworn to give them.
  • Bible in Basic English Public Domain
    And you gave them bread from heaven when they were in need, and made water come out of the rock for their drink, and gave them orders to go in and take for their heritage the land which your hand had been lifted up to give them.
  • JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
    and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and didst command them that they should go in to possess the land which Thou hadst lifted up Thy hand to give them.

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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לִצְמָאָ֑ם
tsâmâʼ
H6772
“to/for · thirst · their”
Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural
Part of Speech
Preposition + Noun
Type
Common
Gender
Masculine
Number
Singular
State
Construct
Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H6770

TWOT: 1926a

thirst
  1. וְ֠לֶחֶם lechem H3899 “and · bread” Conjunction + Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Absolute
  2. מִשָּׁמַ֜יִם shâmayim H8064 “from · heaven(s)” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute
  3. נָתַ֤תָּה nâthan H5414 “to give” Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular
  4. לִרְעָבָ֔ם râʻâb H7458 “to/for · famine · their” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural
  5. וּמַ֗יִם mayim H4325 “and · water(s)” Conjunction + Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute
  6. מִסֶּ֛לַע çelaʻ H5553 “from · rock” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  7. הוֹצֵ֥אתָ yâtsâʼ H3318 “to go out” Verb, Hiphil, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular
  8. וַתֹּ֣אמֶר ʼâmar H559 “and · to say” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular
  9. לָבוֹא֙ bôwʼ H935 “to enter” Preposition + Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct
  10. לָרֶ֣שֶׁת yârash H3423 “to inherit” Preposition + Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct
  11. אֶת ʼêth H853 “-” Particle, Direct Object
  12. הָאָ֔רֶץ ʼerets H776 “the · land” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Absolute
  13. אֲשֶׁר ʼăsher H834 “which” Particle, Relative
  14. נָשָׂ֥אתָ nâsâʼ H5375 “to lift” Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular
  15. אֶת ʼêth H853 “-” Particle, Direct Object
  16. יָדְךָ֖ yâd H3027 “hand · your” Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular
  17. לָתֵ֥ת nâthan H5414 “to give” Preposition + Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct

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 →

22
words
16
distinct lemmas
Historical
section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is לִצְמָאָ֑ם thirst H6772 — appearing just 17 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

לִצְמָאָ֑ם thirst H6772 occurs in 17 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

  • 7 verbs
  • 8 nouns
  • 4 prepositions
  • 3 particles

Verb forms

  • נָתַ֤תָּה Qal · Perfect
  • הוֹצֵ֥אתָ Hiphil · Perfect
  • וַתֹּ֣אמֶר Qal · Sequential Imperfect
  • לָבוֹא֙ Qal · Infinitive Construct
  • לָרֶ֣שֶׁת Qal · Infinitive Construct
  • נָשָׂ֥אתָ Qal · Perfect
  • לָתֵ֥ת Qal · Infinitive Construct

Repetition

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

  • נָתַ֤תָּה to give H5414 ×2

Cross-references

19

Topical passages linked to Nehemiah 9:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:3–4 and all ate the same spiritual food;
  • Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb. You shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
  • Deuteronomy 1:8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them.
  • Exodus 16:4 Then said Yahweh to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.
  • Exodus 16:14–15 When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the hoar-frost on the ground.
  • Psalms 105:40–41 They asked, and he brought quails, And satisfied them with the bread of the sky.
  • John 6:31–35 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'"
  • Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, and allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you didn't know, neither did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh does man live.
  • Psalms 78:24–25 He rained down manna on them to eat, And gave them food from the sky.
  • Psalms 114:8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a spring of waters.
  • Ezekiel 20:15 Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
  • Genesis 14:22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
  • Numbers 14:30 surely you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
  • Numbers 20:7–13 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
  • Deuteronomy 1:21 Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you: go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you; don't be afraid, neither be dismayed.
  • Deuteronomy 8:15–16 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, [in which were] fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought you forth water out of the rock of flint;
  • Joshua 1:2–4 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you, and all this people, to the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
  • Nehemiah 9:20 You gave also your good Spirit to instruct them, and didn't withhold your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.
  • Psalms 77:15–20 You have redeemed your people with your arm, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

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 9:15 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְ֠לֶחֶם מִשָּׁמַ֜יִם נָתַ֤תָּה לָהֶם֙ לִרְעָבָ֔ם וּמַ֗יִם מִסֶּ֛לַע הוֹצֵ֥אתָ לָהֶ֖ם לִצְמָאָ֑ם וַתֹּ֣אמֶר לָהֶ֗ם לָבוֹא֙ לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אֶת הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂ֥אתָ אֶת יָדְךָ֖ לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶֽם

and gave them bread from the sky for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commanded those who they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them.

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 9:15 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 9:15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

Ver. 15. And gavest them bread from heaven] Pluviam escatilem, et petrum aquatilem, as Tertullian phraseth it. God rained down angel’s food, and set the flint abroach; and this he did for their hunger, for their thirst, fitting his favours ad cardinem desiderii, from the desire of their heart, according to their need and request. Besides that, their bread was sacramental, whereof they communicated everyday. Their drink also was sacramental, that this ancient Church might give no warrant of a dry communion: for they did all eat of the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, the same that we do at the Lord’s supper, 1Co 10:3-4.

And promisedst them that they should go in, &c.] And the like promise he hath made of heaven to all his people. "Let us therefore fear," &c., Heb 4:1. Let us therefore cleanse ourselves, &c., 2Co 6:1. Let us haste away in our affections, Col 3:2.

Which thou hast sworn] So he hath to give us heaven (because he knows how backward we are to believe him, with such a pawn), that by two immutable things, God’s word and God’s oath (which maketh his word not more true, but yet more credible), we might have strong consolation, Heb 6:18, and more abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 2Pe 1:11.

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

(15) Bread from heaven.—A change of phrase, which our Lord consecrated for ever (John 6).

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

15. bread from heaven] See Exo_16:4, ‘I will rain bread from heaven for you.’ Cf. Psa_78:24, ‘and gave them of the corn of heaven.’ Psa_105:40, ‘and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.’

water for them out of the rock] Cf. Exo_17:6. But a closer resemblance is afforded by Num_20:8, ‘And thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock.’ See Psa_105:41, ‘He opened the rock, and waters gushed out.’

promisedst] R.V. commandedst. Heb. ‘didst say.’ Cf. Neh_9:24.

sworn] R.V. lifted up thine hand. Cf. Num_14:30, ‘the land, concerning which I lifted up my hand that I would make you dwell therein.’

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 gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger,.... To satisfy that, meaning the manna, Exo 16:3

and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock, for their thirst; to quench it; this was done both quickly after they came out of the land of Egypt, and a little before their entrance into the land of Canaan, see Exo 17:6

and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them; which oath was made to them and to their fathers also, see Num 14:30.

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

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Hand. Promising with an oath, (Genesis xiv. 22.; Menochius; and xxii. 16.; Calmet) or displaying thy power. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

15. Thou hadst sworn — Literally, as the margin, which thou didst lift up thy hand to give them. Allusion to the custom or ceremony of solemnly raising the hand in taking an oath.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

Bread from heaven. The manna had been already called the "bread of heaven" (Psa_105:40) and the "corn of heaven" (Psa_78:24) by the national psalmists. The composer of this prayer now for the first time calls it "bread from heaven a phrase consecrated to Christians by its employment in Joh_6:32, Joh_6:51, Joh_6:58.

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

for their hunger Heb. לִרְעָבָם. From רָעָב one says לִרְעָבָם, as from צָמָא [one says] לִצְמָאָם.

that You raised Your hand with an oath, like (Exod. 6:8): “...which I raised My hand to give it.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

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 22 words (16 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is tsâmâʼ (“thirst”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

  1. The word tsâmâʼ carries the sense “thirst.” How does it shape the verse?
  2. Exodus 17:3 shares the word «thirst» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
  3. “to give” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
  4. The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
  5. The verb «נָתַ֤תָּה» 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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