Nehemiah 8 · Verse 6

Nehemiah 8:6

And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 8:6, King James Version

Nehemiah 8:6 in other translations

BSBThen Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and with their hands uplifted, all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
WEBThen Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. All the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” with the lifting up of their hands. They bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
ASVAnd Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God; and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with the lifting up of their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.
YLTand Ezra blesseth Jehovah, the great God, and all the people answer, ‘Amen, Amen,' with lifting up of their hands, and they bow and do obeisance to Jehovah--faces to the earth.
DARBYAnd Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God; and all the people answered, Amen, Amen! with lifting up of their hands; and they bowed their heads, and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.
BBEAnd Ezra gave praise to the Lord, the great God. And all the people in answer said, So be it, so be it; lifting up their hands; and with bent heads they gave worship to the Lord, going down on their faces to the earth.
WebsterAnd Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

What does Nehemiah 8:6 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 Ezra blessed the Lord - In imitation of this, we say, when the gospel for the day is commenced, Glory be to God for his holy Gospel! and conclude this thanksgiving with, Amen.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Nehemiah 8:1-8

Sacrifices were to be offered only at the door of the temple; but praying and preaching were, and are, services of religion, as acceptably performed in one place as in another. Masters of families should bring their families with them to the public worship of God. Women and children have souls to save, and are therefore to acquaint themselves with the word of God, and to attend on the means of grace. Little ones, as…

Read the full comment on Nehemiah 8:1-8 →

Nehemiah 8:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיְבָ֣רֶךְvay.Va.rekhand he blessedH1288
עֶזְרָ֔א'ez.Ra'EzraH5830
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוָ֥הYah.wehYahwehH3068
הָאֱלֹהִ֖יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
הַגָּד֑וֹלha.ga.Dol<the> greatH1419
וַיַּֽעֲנ֨וּvai.ya.'a.Nuand they answeredH6030
כָל\־khol-allH3605
הָעָ֜םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
אָמֵ֤ן\׀'a.MenamenH543
אָמֵן֙'a.MenamenH543
בְּמֹ֣עַלbe.Mo.'alin [the] raising ofH4607
יְדֵיהֶ֔םye.dei.Hemhands theirH3027
וַיִּקְּד֧וּvai.yi.ke.Duand they bowed lowH6915
וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוֻּ֛vai.yish.ta.cha.Vuand they bowed downH7812
לַיהוָ֖הla.Yah.wehto YahwehH3068
אַפַּ֥יִם'a.Pa.yimfaceH639
אָֽרְצָה\׃'A.re.tzah[the] ground towardsH776

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Nehemiah 8:6

  • 1 Timothy 2:8

    I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

  • Lamentations 3:41

    Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

  • Exodus 4:31

    And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

  • 2 Chronicles 20:18

    And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

  • Revelation 7:11

    And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

  • Genesis 24:26

    And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.

  • Psalms 134:2

    Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.

  • Nehemiah 5:13

    Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise.

  • Leviticus 9:24

    And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

  • Exodus 12:27

    That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

  • 1 Chronicles 29:20

    And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king.

  • Psalms 72:18-19

    Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
blessed.
1Ch 29:20; 2Ch 6:4; Ps 41:13; 72:18,19; Eph 1:3; 1Pe 1:3
Amen.
5:13; Jer 28:6; Mt 6:13; 1Co 14:16
with lifting.
Ge 14:22; Ps 28:2; 63:4; 134:2; 141:2; La 3:41; 1Ti 2:8
bowed.
Ge 24:26; Ex 4:31; 12:27; 2Ch 20:18; 29:30
with their faces.
Le 9:24; Mt 26:39; Re 7:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Nehemiah 8:5

    And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:

  • Nehemiah 8:6

    And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

  • Nehemiah 8:7

    Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

Read all of Nehemiah 8

Nehemiah 8:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Bendijo entonces Esdras á Jehová, Dios grande. Y todo el pueblo respondió, ¡Amén! ¡Amén! alzando sus manos; y humilláronse, y adoraron á Jehová inclinados á tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Esdras bénit l’ Éternel, le grand Dieu, et tout le peuple répondit: Amen, amen! en élevant les mains, et ils s’inclinèrent et se prosternèrent devant l’ Éternel, le visage contre terre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Esra pries Jehova, den großen Gott, und das ganze Volk antwortete: Amen, Amen! indem sie ihre Hände emporhoben und sich verneigten und vor Jehova niederwarfen, mit dem Antlitz zur Erde.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et benedixit Esdras Domino Deo magno: et respondit omnis populus: Amen, amen, elevans manus suas: et incurvati sunt, et adoraverunt Deum proni in terram.