经文研读
Nehemiah 1:5-11 — Nehemiah's Confessional Prayer
Nehemiah responds to news of Jerusalem's ruin with a prayer that confesses national sin, recalls God's covenant promises through Moses, and pleads for success in an approaching audience with the king.
经文
- 5.耶 和 華 ─ 天 上 的 神 ， 大 而 可 畏 的 神 啊 ， 你 向 愛 你 、 守 你 誡 命 的 人 守 約 施 慈 愛 。and said, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments:
- 6.願 你 睜 眼 看 ， 側 耳 聽 ， 你 僕 人 晝 夜 在 你 面 前 為 你 眾 僕 人 以 色 列 民 的 祈 禱 ， 承 認 我 們 以 色 列 人 向 你 所 犯 的 罪 ； 我 與 我 父 家 都 有 罪 了 。Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father's house have sinned:
- 7.我 們 向 你 所 行 的 甚 是 邪 惡 ， 沒 有 遵 守 你 藉 著 僕 人 摩 西 所 吩 咐 的 誡 命 、 律 例 、 典 章 。we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
- 8.求 你 記 念 所 吩 咐 你 僕 人 摩 西 的 話 ， 說 ： 你 們 若 犯 罪 ， 我 就 把 你 們 分 散 在 萬 民 中 ；Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples:
- 9.但 你 們 若 歸 向 我 ， 謹 守 遵 行 我 的 誡 命 ， 你 們 被 趕 散 的 人 雖 在 天 涯 ， 我 也 必 從 那 裡 將 他 們 招 聚 回 來 ， 帶 到 我 所 選 擇 立 為 我 名 的 居 所 。but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.
- 10.這 都 是 你 的 僕 人 、 你 的 百 姓 ， 就 是 你 用 大 力 和 大 能 的 手 所 救 贖 的 。Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
- 11.主 啊 ， 求 你 側 耳 聽 你 僕 人 的 祈 禱 ， 和 喜 愛 敬 畏 你 名 眾 僕 人 的 祈 禱 ， 使 你 僕 人 現 今 亨 通 ， 在 王 面 前 蒙 恩 。 我 是 作 王 酒 政 的 。O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was cupbearer to the king.
这段经文的意思
Nehemiah 1:5-7 is a prayer that begins with who God is and moves to what Israel has done. The opening address names God as 'the God of heaven' and 'the great and terrible God' who keeps covenant and lovingkindness with those who love Him and keep His commandments. Nehemiah pairs those two divine attributes on purpose: severity toward sin, steadfast love toward the obedient. The prayer then turns to confession, first of 'the children of Israel' and then narrowing to 'I and my father's house.' The shift is deliberate — national guilt is real, but Nehemiah does not treat it as someone else's problem. He lists the failure as keeping neither commandments, statutes, nor ordinances, the three terms covering the whole Mosaic instruction given through Moses.
Verses 8-10 pivot from confession to petition by quoting God's own word. Nehemiah asks the Lord to 'remember the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses': if Israel trespasses, they will be scattered among the peoples; but if they return and keep the commandments, even outcasts at 'the uttermost part of the heavens' will be gathered back to the place chosen for the name of God to dwell there. The prayer then grounds the request in redemption: 'these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.' Past redemption becomes the basis for present restoration.
Verse 11 brings the prayer to its concrete request. Nehemiah repeats the plea that God's ear be attentive — picking up the language of verse 6 — and joins his prayer to 'thy servants, who delight to fear thy name.' He then asks for two specific things for 'this day': that he may prosper and that he may find mercy 'in the sight of this man,' meaning the king. The closing line identifies Nehemiah as the king's cupbearer, which is precisely the office that will give him access to make the request of verses 1-4 bear fruit in chapters 2 onward.
背景
Verses 1-4 set the occasion: Nehemiah, serving in Shushan the palace (the Persian royal city), receives a report from Hanani that the Jewish remnant in the province is in great affliction, that Jerusalem's wall is broken down, and that its gates are burned with fire. His response is to sit down, weep, mourn, fast, and pray 'before the God of heaven.' The prayer of 1:5-11 is therefore not abstract worship but the direct verbal expression of that grieving, fasting response.
The placement matters for how the prayer reads. Nehemiah confesses before he requests. He grounds his request for success with the king in God's covenant character and in God's own past word through Moses, rather than in his own merit. The closing identification as cupbearer makes the prayer the hinge of the book: the next chapter opens with Nehemiah still in the king's presence, where the request of verse 11 will be put to the test.
常见问题
Why does Nehemiah call God both great and terrible?
Because Nehemiah's prayer is about returning to God after covenant unfaithfulness. The 'great and terrible' language acknowledges that God is not to be trifled with when His covenant is broken, while the next phrase, 'that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness,' shows the same God also pledges steadfast love to those who love Him and keep His commandments. Severity and mercy are held together because Nehemiah is confessing the very sin that called for judgment.
What is Nehemiah quoting in verses 8-9?
Nehemiah asks God to 'remember the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses.' He then summarizes a covenant passage that contains two parts: trespass leads to scattering among the peoples, and return leads to regathering from the farthest point of the heavens to the place God chose for His name to dwell. He cites this as God's own stated terms, so his request for restoration rests on what God has already said rather than on a new plea.
Why does the passage end with 'Now I was cupbearer to the king'?
The final line identifies Nehemiah's position at the Persian court and links the prayer to the rest of the book. As cupbearer, Nehemiah had unusual access to the king; verse 11 asks for mercy 'in the sight of this man,' and the next chapter opens with Nehemiah still in that role, where the request of the prayer will be answered. The closing line is therefore not biographical filler but the hinge between prayer and action.