Nehemiah 1:7 (WEB)

Passage

We have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which you commanded your servant Moses.

Nearby Context

Nehemiah 1:5 and said, “I beg you, Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments:

Nehemiah 1:6 Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may listen to the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned.

Nehemiah 1:7 We have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which you commanded your servant Moses.

Nehemiah 1:8 “Remember, I beg you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you trespass, I will scatter you among the peoples;

Nehemiah 1:9 but if you return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.’

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "dealt", "very", "corruptly", "against", "kept", "commandments", "statutes", and "ordinances". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "dealt" and "very", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Let your ear now be attentive and..." into verse 8's "Remember I beg you the word that...", so "dealt" and "very" belong inside that flow. In Nehemiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "dealt" and "very" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.