Nehemiah 9

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel assembled with fasting, and in sackcloths, and with ashes on their head.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel came together, taking no food and putting haircloth and dust on their bodies.

2 And the children of Israel separated themselves from every stranger, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

And the seed of Israel made themselves separate from all the men of other nations, publicly requesting forgiveness for their sins and the wrongdoing of their fathers.

3 And they stood in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their god: and they confessed [their sins] to the Lord, and worshipped the Lord their God.

And for a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they were reading from the book of the law of their God; and for a fourth part of the day they were requesting forgiveness and worshipping the Lord their God.

4 [And] there stood upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jesus, and the sons of Cadmiel, Sechenia the son of Sarabia, sons of Choneni; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.

Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani took their places on the steps of the Levites, crying in a loud voice to the Lord their God.

5 And the Levites, Jesus and Cadmiel, said, Rise up, bless the Lord our God forever and ever: and let them bless your glorious name, and exalt it with all blessing and praise.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, Get up and give praise to the Lord your God for ever and ever. Praise be to your great name which is lifted up high over all blessing and praise.

6 And Esdras said, You are the only true Lord; you made the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, and all their array, the earth, and all things that are in it, the seas, and all things in them; and you quicken all things, and the hosts of heaven worship you.

You are the Lord, even you only; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their armies, the earth and all things in it, the seas and everything in them; and you keep them from destruction: and the armies of heaven are your worshippers.

7 You are the Lord God, you did choose Abram, and brought him out of the land of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name of Abraam:

You are the Lord, the God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

8 and you found his heart faithful before you, and did make a covenant with him to give to him and to his seed the land of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Pherezites, and Jebusites, and Gergesites; and you have confirmed your words, for you [are] righteous.

You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours:

9 And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea.

And you saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry came to your ears by the Red Sea;

10 And you showed signs and wonders in Egypt, on Pharao and all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for you know that they behaved insolently against them: and you made yourself a name, as at this day.

And you did signs and wonders on Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land; for you saw how cruel they were to them. So you got yourself a name as it is today.

11 And you did cleave the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land; and you did cast into the deep them that were about to pursue them, as a stone in the mighty water.

By you the sea was parted before them, so that they went through the sea on dry land; and those who went after them went down into the deep, like a stone into great waters.

12 And you guided them by day by a pillar of cloud, and by night by a pillar of fire, to enlighten for them the way wherein they should walk.

And you went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light on the way they were to go.

13 Also you came down upon mount Sina, and you spoke to them out of heaven, and gave them right judgements, and laws of truth, ordinances, and good commandments.

And you came down on Mount Sinai, and your voice came to them from heaven, giving them right decisions and true laws, good rules and orders:

14 And you did make known to them your holy sabbath; you did enjoin upon them commandments, and ordinances, and a law, by the hand of your servant Moses.

And you gave them word of your holy Sabbath, and gave them orders and rules and a law, by the hand of Moses your servant:

15 And you gave them bread from heaven for their food, and you brought them forth water from a rock for their thirst; and you bade them go in to inherit the land over which you stretched out your hand to give [it] them.

And you gave them bread from heaven when they were in need, and made water come out of the rock for their drink, and gave them orders to go in and take for their heritage the land which your hand had been lifted up to give them.

16 But they and our fathers behaved proudly, and hardened their neck, and did not listen to your commandments,

But they and our fathers, in their pride, made their necks stiff, and gave no attention to your orders,

17 and refused to listen, and remembered not your wonders which you wrought with them; and they hardened their neck, and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt: but you, O God, [are] merciful and compassionate, longsuffering, and abundant in mercy, and you did not forsake them.

And would not do them, and gave no thought to the wonders you had done among them; but made their necks stiff, and turning away from you, made a captain over themselves to take them back to their prison in Egypt: but you are a God of forgiveness, full of grace and pity, slow to wrath and great in mercy, and you did not give them up.

18 And still farther they even made to themselves a molten calf, and said, These [are] the gods that brought us up out of Egypt: and they wrought great provocations.

Even when they had made for themselves an ox of metal, and said, This is your God who took you up out of Egypt, and had done so much to make you angry;

19 Yet you in your great compassions did not forsake them in the wilderness: you did not turn away from them the pillar of the cloud by day, to guide them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to enlighten for them the way wherein they should walk.

Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the waste land: the pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go.

20 And you gave your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not withhold your manna from their mouth, and gave them water in their thirst.

And you gave your good spirit to be their teacher, and did not keep back your manna from their mouths, and gave them water when they had need of it.

21 And you did sustain them forty years in the wilderness; you did not allow anything to fail them: their garments did not wax old, and their feet were not bruised.

Truly, for forty years you were their support in the waste land, and they were in need of nothing; their clothing did not get old or their feet become tired.

22 Moreover, you gave them kingdoms, and did divide nations to them: and they inherited the land of Seon king of Esebon, and the land of Og king of Basan.

And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, making distribution to them in every part of the land: so they took for their heritage the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan.

23 And you did multiply their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land of which you spoke to their fathers;

And you made their children as great in number as the stars of heaven, and took them into the land, of which you had said to their fathers that they were to go in and take it for themselves.

24 And they inherited it: and you did destroy from before them the dwellers in the land of the Chananites, and you gave into their hands them and their kings, and the nations of the land, to do to them as it pleased them.

So the children went in and took the land, and you overcame before them the people of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them up into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them whatever it was their pleasure to do.

25 And they took lofty cities, and inherited houses full of all good things, wells dug, vineyards, and olive yards, and every fruit tree in abundance: so they ate, and were filled, and grew fat, and rioted in your great goodness.

And they took walled towns and a fat land, and became the owners of houses full of all good things, water-holes cut in the rock, vine-gardens and olive-gardens and a wealth of fruit-trees: so they had food enough and became fat, and had joy in the good you gave them.

26 But they turned, and revolted from you, and cast your law behind their backs; and they killed your prophets, who testified against them to turn them back to you, and they wrought great provocations.

But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority, turning their backs on your law, and putting to death your prophets, who gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you, and they did much to make you angry.

27 Then you gave them into the hand of them that afflicted them, and they did afflict them: and they cried to you in the time of their affliction, and you did hear them from your heaven, and in your great compassions gave them deliverers, and did save them from the hand of them that afflicted them.

And so you gave them up into the hands of their haters who were cruel to them: and in the time of their trouble, when they made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; and in your great mercy gave them saviours, who made them free from the hands of their haters.

28 But when they rested, they did evil again before you: so you left them in the hands of their enemies, and they ruled over them: and they cried again to you, and you heard [them] from heaven, and did deliver them in your great compassions.

But when they had rest, they did evil again before you: so you gave them into the hands of their haters, who had rule over them: but when they came back and made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; again and again, in your mercy, you gave them salvation;

29 And you did testify against them, to bring them back to your law: but they listened not, but sinned against your commandments and your judgements, which if a man do, he shall live in them; and they turned their back, and hardened their neck, and heard not.

And gave witness against them so that you might make them come back again to your law: but their hearts were lifted up, and they gave no attention to your orders and went against your decisions (which, if a man keeps them, will be life to him), and turning their backs on you, made their necks stiff and did not give ear.

30 Yet you did bear long with them many years, and did testify to them by your Spirit by the hand of your prophets: but they listened not; so you gave them into the hand of the nations of the land.

Year after year you put up with them, and gave witness against them by your spirit through your prophets: still they did not give ear: and so you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands.

31 But you in your many mercies did not appoint them to destruction, and did not forsake them; for you are strong, and merciful, and pitiful.

Even then, in your great mercy, you did not put an end to them completely, or give them up; for you are a God of grace and mercy.

32 And now, O our God, the powerful, the great, the mighty, and the terrible, keeping your covenant and your mercy, let not all the trouble seem little in your sight which has come upon us, and our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and upon all your people, from the days of the kings of Assur even to this day.

And now, our God, the great, the strong, the God who is to be feared, who keeps faith and mercy, let not all this trouble seem small to you, which has come on us, and on our kings and our rulers and on our priests and our prophets and our fathers and on all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria till this day.

33 But you [are] righteous in all the things that come upon us; for you have wrought faithfully, but we have greatly sinned.

But still, you have been in the right in everything which has come on us; you have been true to us, but we have done evil:

34 And our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our fathers, have not performed your law, and have not given heed to your commandments, and [have not kept] your testimonies which you did testify to them.

And our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or given attention to your orders and your witness, with which you gave witness against them.

35 And they did not serve you in your kingdom, and in your great goodness which you gave to them, and in the large and fat land which you did furnish before them, and they turned not from their evil devices.

For they have not been your servants in their kingdom, and in all the good things you gave them, and in the great and fat land you gave them, and they have not been turned away from their evil-doing.

36 Behold, we are servants this day, and [as for] the land which you gave to our fathers to eat the fruit of it and the good things of it, behold, we are servants upon it:

Now, today, we are servants, and as for the land which you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it:

37 and its produce [is] abundant for the kings whom you did appoint over us because of our sins; and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, as it pleases them, and we are in great affliction.

And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins: and they have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble.

38 And in regard to all these circumstances we make a covenant, and write [it], and our princes, our Levites, [and] our priests, set their seal to [it].

And because of all this we are making an agreement in good faith, and putting it in writing; and our rulers, our Levites, and our priests are putting their names to it.