Nehemiah 9

1 Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the sons of Israel came together in fasting and in sackcloth, and with soil upon them.

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 offspring of the sons of Israel were separated from all the sons of foreigners. And they stood up, and they 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 arose to stand. And they read in the volume of the law of the Lord their God, four times in the day, and four times they confessed. And they adored 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 Then, upon the step of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, and Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani rose up. And they cried out in a great 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, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bunni, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said: “Rise up. Bless the Lord your God, from eternity even to eternity! And blessed be the exalted name of your glory, 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 You yourself alone, O Lord, made heaven, and the heaven of the heavens, and all their host, the earth and all things that are in it, the seas and all things that are in them. And you gave life to all these things. And the host of heaven adores 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 yourself, O Lord God, are the One who chose Abram. And you led him away from the fire of the Chaldeans, and you gave him the name Abraham.

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 to be faithful before you. And you formed a covenant with him, so that you might give to him the land of the Canaanite, of the Hittite, and of the Amorite, and of the Perizzite, and of the Jebusite, and of the Girgashite, so that you might give it to his offspring. And you have fulfilled your words, for you are just.

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 outcry beside 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 gave signs and portents to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to the people of his land. For you knew that they acted arrogantly against them. And you made a name for yourself, just as it is in 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 divided the sea before them, and they crossed through the midst of the sea on dry land. But their pursuers you cast into the depths, like a stone into great waters.

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 in the pillar of cloud, you were their leader by day, and in the pillar of fire, by night, so that they might see the way along which they might advance.

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 You also descended to mount Sinai, and you spoke with them from heaven. And you gave them upright judgments, and the law of truth, and ceremonies, and good precepts.

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 You revealed to them your sanctified Sabbath, and you instructed them in commandments, and ceremonies, and the law, by the hand of Moses, your servant.

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 You also gave them bread from heaven in their hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their thirst. And you said to them that they should enter and possess the land, over which you lifted up your hand so that you might give it to 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 Yet truly, they and our fathers acted arrogantly, and they hardened their necks, and they 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 they were not willing to hear, and they did not remember, your miracles which you had accomplished for them. And they hardened their necks, and they offered their head, so that they would return to their servitude, as if in contention. But you, a forgiving God, lenient and merciful, longsuffering and full of compassion, did not abandon 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 Indeed, even when they had made for themselves a molten calf, and they had said, ‘This is your God, who led you away from Egypt!’ and had committed great blasphemies,

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 even so, in the multitude of your mercies, you did not send them away in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not withdraw from them by day, so that it might lead them on the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, so that it might show them the way along which they might advance.

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 them your good Spirit, so that he might teach them, and you did not withhold your manna from their mouth, and you 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 For forty years, you fed them in the desert, and nothing was lacking to them; their garments did not grow old, and their feet were not worn down.

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 And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you distributed to them by lot. And they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan.

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 multiplied their sons like the stars of heaven. And you led them into the land, about which you had said to their fathers that they would enter and possess it.

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 the sons arrived and possessed the land. And you humbled the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, before them. And you delivered them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, so that they might do with them just as it was pleasing to 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 so they seized fortified cities and fat soil. And they possessed houses filled with all kinds of goods, cisterns made by others, vineyards, and olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate and were satisfied. And they were fattened, and they abounded with delights from 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 provoked you to wrath, and they withdrew from you, and they cast your law behind their backs. And they killed your prophets, who contended with them so that they might return to you. And they committed great blasphemies.

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 And so you gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they afflicted them. And in the time of their tribulation, they cried out to you, and from heaven you heard them. And in accord with your great compassion, you gave to them saviors, who might save them from the hand of their enemies.

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 after they had rested, they turned back, so that they did evil in your sight. And you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, and they possessed them. And they converted, and they cried out to you. And from heaven you heeded them, and you freed them many times, by your mercies.

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 contended with them, so that they might return to your law. Yet truly, they acted in arrogance, and they did not listen to your commandments, and they sinned against your judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they withdrew from offering their shoulder, and they hardened their neck; neither would they listen.

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 And you continued to forbear them for many years. And you contended with them by your Spirit, through the hand of your prophets. And they did not listen, and so you delivered them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

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 Yet in your very many mercies, you did not cause them to be consumed, nor did you abandon them. For you are a compassionate and lenient God.

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 Now therefore, our great God, strong and terrible, who keeps covenant and mercy, may you not avert your face from all the hardship that has found us, we and our kings, and our leaders, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and all the people, from the days of king 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 For you are just, concerning all things that have overwhelmed us. For you have done truth, but we have acted impiously.

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

34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our fathers have not done your law, and they have not been attentive to your commandments and your testimonies, to which you have testified among 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 have not served you, in their kingdoms and with your many good things, which you gave to them, and in the very wide and fat land, which you delivered into their sight, nor did they return from their most wicked pursuits.

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 ourselves this day are servants. And the land, which you gave to our fathers so that they might eat its bread and have its good things, we ourselves are servants within 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 fruits are multiplied for the kings, whom you have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies, and over our cattle, according to their will. And we are in great tribulation.

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 Therefore, concerning all of these things, we ourselves are forming and writing a covenant, and our leaders, our Levites, and our priests are signing 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.