The Meaning of Nehemiah 9:2 Explained

Nehemiah 9:2

KJV: And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

YLT: and the seed of Israel are separated from all sons of a stranger, and stand and confess concerning their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers,

Darby: And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

ASV: And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the seed  of Israel  separated  themselves from all strangers,  and stood  and confessed  their sins,  and the iniquities  of their fathers. 

What does Nehemiah 9:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Nehemiah 9:1-21 - God's Hand In History
What a blessed result of the Bible-study of the previous chapter. It led to confession, separation from evil association and worship. It is good to review the dealings of God with us and with our people in bygone days. There are hilltops in our experience where the air is clear, and we can see the way by which we have been led. At such times we look beyond second causes to the great Orderer of our lives, and our history is one perpetual assertion of THOU. The history of God's dealings with Israel is an epitome of His dealings with ourselves. The choice in Ur, the redemption from Egypt, the wilderness wanderings, the land of rest-all these have their counterparts in our life-story. Side by side with the story of God's care runs the story of transgression, Nehemiah 9:16-18. The gold and black strands are closely interwoven. In the midst of God's best gifts, we break out into sin; yet He still gives us His good spirit, and withholds not the manna which He promised, Nehemiah 9:20. [source]

Chapter Summary: Nehemiah 9

1  A solemn fast, and repentance of the people
4  The Levites make a confession of God's goodness, and their wickedness

What do the individual words in Nehemiah 9:2 mean?

And separated themselves the seed Israel from all strangers foreigners and they stood and confessed on their sins and the iniquities of their fathers
וַיִּבָּֽדְלוּ֙ זֶ֣רַע יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מִכֹּ֖ל בְּנֵ֣י נֵכָ֑ר וַיַּעַמְד֗וּ וַיִּתְוַדּוּ֙ עַל־ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיהֶ֔ם וַעֲוֺנ֖וֹת אֲבֹתֵיהֶֽם

וַיִּבָּֽדְלוּ֙  And  separated  themselves 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בָּדַל  
Sense: to divide, separate.
זֶ֣רַע  the  seed 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: זֶרַע  
Sense: seed, sowing, offspring.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
מִכֹּ֖ל  from  all 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
בְּנֵ֣י  strangers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
נֵכָ֑ר  foreigners 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נֵכָר  
Sense: foreign, alien, foreignness, that which is foreign.
וַיַּעַמְד֗וּ  and  they  stood 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
וַיִּתְוַדּוּ֙  and  confessed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָדָה 
Sense: to throw, shoot, cast.
חַטֹּ֣אתֵיהֶ֔ם  their  sins 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
וַעֲוֺנ֖וֹת  and  the  iniquities 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common plural construct
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
אֲבֹתֵיהֶֽם  of  their  fathers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.