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.

And on the twenty and fourth day of this month were the children of Israel assembled with fasting, and in sackclothes, and with earth upon them.

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 separated themselves from all children of the strangers: and they stood forward and made confession for their sins, and the iniquities 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 they stood up in their standing-place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God the fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they made confession, and prostrated themselves before 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 stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, Jeshua' and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebanyah, Bunni, Sherebyah, Bani, and Kenani, and they cried with a loud voice unto 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 said the Levites, Jeshua', and Kadmiel, Bani, Chashabneyah, Sherebyah, Hodiyah, Shebanyah, and Pethachyah, Arise! bless ye the Lord your God from eternity to eternity. And let men bless thy glorious name, which is exalted above 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.

Thou indeed art the Eternal One alone: It is thou that hast made the heavens with all their host, the earth, and all that is upon her, the seas, and all that is in them, and thou givest life to them all; and the host of the heavens bow down before thee.

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:

Thou art indeed the Lord the [true] God, who didst choose Abram, and bring him forth out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and change his name to 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.

And thou didst find his heart faithful before thee: and thou madest with him the covenant to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Emorites, and the Perizittes, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashite—to give it to his seed: and thou hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous.

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

And thou didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry didst thou hear 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 thou didst display signs and wonders on Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they had dealt presumptuously against them; and thou didst [thus] make thyself a name, as it is this day.

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.

And the sea didst thou divide before them, so that they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land; and their pursuers didst thou throw into the deeps, like a stone in mighty 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 by a pillar of cloud didst thou lead them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night, to give light unto them on the way whereon they should 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.

Also on mount Sinai camest thou down, and spokest with them from heaven; and thou gavest them upright ordinances, and truthful laws, good statutes and commandments;

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 thy holy sabbath madest thou known unto them, and commandments, statutes, and a law didst thou enjoin on them, by the hand of Moses thy 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 bread from heaven didst thou give them for their hunger, and water out of the rock broughtest thou forth for them for their thirst; and thou didst order them to go in to take possession of the land concerning which thou hadst lifted up thy hand to give it unto them.

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

And they and our fathers acted presumptuously, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not to thy commandments.

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 they refused to obey, and remembered not thy marvelous deeds which thou hadst done with them; but they hardened their neck, and [spoke of] appointing a chief to return to their bondage, in their rebellion; but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, long-suffering, and abundant in kindness, and forsookest them not.

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.

Yea, although they had made for themselves a molten calf, and said, 'This is thy god that hath brought thee up out of Egypt,' and had practised great provocations:

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.

Yet in thy abundant mercies didst thou not forsake them in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them on the way; nor the pillar of fire by night, to give them light on the way whereon they should 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 thy good spirit thou gavest to make them intelligent, and thy manna thou withheldest not from their mouth, and water thou gavest them for their thirst.

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.

And forty years didst thou provide for them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out; and their feet swelled not.

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.

Thou gavest them also kingdoms and nations, which thou didst divide into various corners: and they took possession of the land of Sichon, even the land of the king of Cheshbon, and the land of 'Og the 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 their children didst thou multiply like the stars of heaven, and then broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst ordered their fathers to enter in to take possession of it.

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.

And the children entered in and took possession of the land; and thou didst humble before them the inhabitants of the land, the Cana'anites, and gavest them up into their hands, with their kings, and the nations of the land, that they might do with them according to their pleasure.

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 captured fortified cities, and a fat soil; and they took possession of houses full of all good things, hewn-out wells, vineyards, and olive-yards, and fruit trees in abundance; and they ate, and were satisfied, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

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.

Then became they disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and they slew thy prophets who had warned them to bring them back unto thee, and they practised great provocations.

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.

Thereupon thou gavest them up into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them: and in the time of their distress they used to cry unto thee, and thou ever heardest them from heaven; and according to thy abundant mercies thou wast wont to give them helpers, who helped them out of the hand of their adversaries.

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 [once more] they had rest, they did again evil before thee: wherefore thou didst leave them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; and when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou wast wont to hear them from heaven, and thou didst ever deliver them according to thy mercies many times.

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 thou gavest them warning to bring them back unto thy law: yet they acted presumptuously, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, and sinned against thy ordinances, which a man is to do that he may live through them: and they rendered their shoulder rebellious, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

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.

Yet thou gavest them indulgence many years, and didst warn them through thy spirit by means of thy prophets; but they gave no ear: therefore didst thou give them up into the hand of the nations 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.

Yet in thy abundant mercies hast thou not made an entire end of them, and thou hast not forsaken them; for a gracious and merciful God art thou.

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 mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest the covenant and kindness, let not be esteemed as little before thee all the hardship that hath befallen us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until 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.

Nevertheless thou art righteous in all that is come over us; for thou hast acted [according to] truth, but we have done wickedly.

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.

Also our kings, our priests, and our fathers have not executed thy law, and have not listened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst warn 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.

But they in their kingdom, and in thy abundant goodness which thou hadst given unto them, and in the ample and fat land which thou hadst given up before them, did indeed not serve thee, and they turned not away from their wicked deeds.

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:

Behold, we are this day servants: and as regardeth the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat its fruit and its good things, behold, 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 yieldeth its products in abundance for the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins; also over our bodies have they dominion, and over our cattle [also] at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

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 make a faithful covenant, and write it down; and on the sealed document are our princes, our Levites, and our priests.