1. Nehemiah 1:7 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is Nehemiah saying with the clause, “We have acted very corruptly against you”?

Nehemiah 1:7 (ESV)

7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

The way the Hebrew is constructed indicates that Nehemiah wants to underline the extent of the corrupt behaviour (rendered as very). He’s not being soft on himself, his ancestors or his people. So the phrase amounts to affirming God’s righteousness in giving the punishment he gave, including the exile itself and the broken ruins of Jerusalem.