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.

Now, on the twenty-fourth day of this month, were the sons of Israel gathered together, with fasting and with sackcloth, having 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 the sons of the foreigner, —and stood and made confession over their own 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.

So they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Yahweh their God, a fourth part of the day, —and, a fourth part, they were making confession and bowing themselves down, unto Yahweh 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 on the platform of the Levites, Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, Chenani, —and made outcry, with a loud voice, unto Yahweh 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, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, Pethahiah, Stand up, bless Yahweh your God, from age to age, —Yea let them 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, art Yahweh, thou alone, Thou, didst make the heavens, the heavens of heavens, and all their host, the earth and all that is thereon, the seas and all that is therein, and, thou, holdest them all in life, —and, the host of the heavens, unto thee, are bowing down.

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 Yahweh, God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, —and madest his name 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 didst find his heart faithful before thee, and didst solemnize with him a covenant, to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, —to give it unto his seed, —and didst confirm thy words, for, righteous, thou art.

9 And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt. And you heard their outcry beside the Red Sea.

Yea thou sawest the affliction of our fathers, in Egypt, and, their outcry, thou heardest, 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 didst grant signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and against all his servants, and against all the people of his land, for thou hadst taken note, that they ruled proudly over them, —and so thou didst make thee a name, as at 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 cleave asunder before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea, on dry ground, —whereas, their pursuers, thou didst cast into the depths like a stone, into the 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, in a pillar of cloud, didst thou lead them, by day, —and in a pillar of fire, by night, to light up for them the way wherein 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.

And, upon Mount Sinai, camest thou down, and spakest with them out of the heavens, —and gavest them just regulations, and faithful 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, didst thou make known to them, —and, commandments and statutes and a law, didst thou command them, through 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 out of the heavens, didst thou give them, for their hunger, and, waters out of the cliff, didst thou bring them, for their thirst, —and badest them go in to take possession of the land, which thou hadst lifted thy hand to give them.

16 Yet truly, they and our fathers acted arrogantly, and they hardened their necks, and they did not listen to your commandments.

But, they and our fathers, dealt proudly, —and hardened their neck, and hearkened not unto 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.

but refused to hearken, neither kept in mind thy wonders which thou hadst done with them, but they hardened their neck, and appointed a head that they might return to their servitude, in their perverseness. But, thou, art a God of forgivenesses, gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness, and didst not forsake them.

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 made them a molten calf, and said, This, is thy God, that brought thee up out of Egypt, —and wrought great insults,

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, thou, in thine abounding compassions, didst not forsake them in the desert, —the pillar of cloud, departed not from over them by day, to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light up for them the way wherein 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 instruct them, —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.

Yea, forty years, didst thou sustain them in the desert, they lacked nothing, —their mantles, waxed not old 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.

And thou gavest them kingdoms, and peoples, and allotted to each of them a corner, —and they took possession of the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og 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.

Their children also, didst thou multiply, like the stars of the heavens, —and didst bring them into the land which thou hadst promised their fathers they should enter to possess;

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.

so the children entered and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and deliveredst them into their hand, —with their kings, and the peoples of the land, to 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 took possession of houses full of every good thing, wells digged, vineyards and oliveyards and fruit-trees, in abundance, —so they did eat and were filled and became fat, and luxuriated 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.

But they murmured and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and, thy prophets, they slew, who testified against them that they might turn them back unto thee, —and they wrought great insults.

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.

Therefore didst thou deliver them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them, —and, in the time of their distress, they made outcry unto thee, and, thou, out of the heavens, didst hear, and, according to thine abounding compassions, gavest them saviours, that they might save 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, as soon as they had rest, they again wrought wickedness before thee, —and thou didst leave them in the hand of their enemies, who bare rule over them, yet, when they again made outcry unto thee, thou, from the heavens, didst hear and didst deliver them according to thy compassions, 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 didst testify against them, to bring them back unto thy law, yet, they, dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, and, against thy regulations, they sinned, the which—if any son of earth shall do—then shall he live by them, —and yielded a rebellious shoulder, and, their neck, they stiffened, and hearkened not.

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.

And thou didst suffer many years to pass over them, and didst testify against them by thy Spirit through thy prophets, yet did they not give ear, —therefore didst thou deliver them into the hand of the peoples 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 thine abounding compassions, thou didst not make of them an end, neither didst thou forsake them, —for, a GOD gracious and full of compassion, thou art.

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.

Now, therefore, O our God—the GOD great, mighty, and fearful—keeping the covenant and the lovingkindness, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, which hath come upon us—on our kings, on our rulers, 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.

But, thou, art righteous, as to all that hath fallen upon us, —for, faithfulness, hast thou wrought, whereas, we, have been lawless;

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.

and, our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers, have not kept thy law, —nor given heed unto thy commandments, or unto thy testimonies, wherewith thou hast testified against 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 thine abundant goodness which thou gavest them, and in the broad and fat land which thou didst set before them, did not serve thee, neither turned they from their wicked doings.

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.

Lo! we, to-day, are bondmen—even upon the land which thou gavest our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, lo! we, are bondmen;

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, the increase thereof, aboundeth unto the kings whom thou hast set over us, for our sins, —and, over our bodies, are they bearing rule, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and, in great distress, we are.

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.”

Seeing, therefore, all this, we, are plighting our faith, and putting it in writing, —and, upon the sealed scroll, are our rulers, our Levites, our priests.