# Nehemiah 9.38 **Book:** [Nehemiah](/codex/nehemiah/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 36. Behold, we are servants this day, and as for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. 37. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. > > **38. And yet for all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal unto it.** (Nehemiah 9:36-38, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 36. “Behold, we are servants today, and as for the land that you gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its good, behold, we are servants in it. 37. It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. Also they have power over our bodies and over our livestock, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. > > **38. Yet for all this, we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal it.”** (Nehemiah 9:36-38, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 36. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: 37. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. > > **38. And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it. seal: Heb. are at the sealing, or, sealed** (Nehemiah 9:36-38, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 36. 'Lo, we, to-day, [are] servants, and the land that Thou hast given to our fathers, to eat its fruit and its good, lo, we [are] servants on it, 37. and its increase it is multiplying to the kings whom Thou hast set over us in our sins; and over our bodies they are ruling, and over our cattle, according to their pleasure, and we [are] in great distress. > > **38. And for all this we are making a stedfast covenant, and are writing, and over him who is sealed [are] our heads, our Levites, our priests.'** (Nehemiah 9:36-38, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** _TBD_ - **Audience:** _TBD_ - **Location:** _TBD_ - **Time period:** _TBD_ ## Theological reading _Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._ ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.