Nehemiah 9

1 On the twenty-fourth day of this same month, the Israelites met together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.

And in the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel have been gathered with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth on them;

2 Those of Israelite ancestry separated themselves from the foreigners, and stood to confess their sins and those of their forefathers.

and the seed of Israel are separated from all sons of a stranger, and stand and confess concerning their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers,

3 They spent three hours standing there reading the Book of the Law of the Lord their God, and another three hours confessing their sins and worshiping the Lord their God.

and rise up on their station, and read in the Scroll of the Law of their God YHWH a fourth of the day, and a fourth they are confessing and bowing themselves to their God YHWH.

4 The Levites stood on the stage and called out loudly to the Lord their God. (Their names were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani.)

And there stand up on the ascent, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, Chenani, and they cry with a loud voice to their God YHWH.

5 Then the Levites announced: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God who lives eternally: ‘May who you are and your glory be blessed, and may you be lifted up above all blessing and praise.’” (The names of the Levites were Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah.)

And the Levites say, [even] Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, Pethahiah, “Rise, bless your God YHWH, From age to age, And they bless the Name of Your glory That [is] exalted above all blessing and praise.

6 They prayed, “Only you are the Lord. It was you who made the sky, the heavens with all their stars, the land and everything on it, the seas and everything in them. You give life to all of them, and all the heavenly beings worship you.

You [are] He, O YHWH, Yourself—You have made the heavens, The heavens of the heavens, and all their host, The earth and all that [are] on it, The seas and all that [are] in them, And You are keeping all of them alive, And the host of the heavens are bowing themselves to You.

7 You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram, who led him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.

You [are] He, O YHWH God, Who fixed on Abraham, And brought him out from Ur of the Chaldeans, And made his name Abraham,

8 You knew he would be faithful to you, and made an agreement with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. You kept your promise, because you do what is right.

And found his heart steadfast before You, So as to make with him the covenant, To give the land of the Canaanite, The Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, To give [it] to his seed. And You establish Your words, For You [are] righteous,

9 You saw how much our forefathers were suffering in Egypt. You heard their cries for help at the Red Sea.

And see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And their cry have heard by the Sea of Suph,

10 You performed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his officials, and all his people of his land, for you recognized how arrogantly they treated our forefathers. You created a wonderful reputation for yourself that people still recognize to this day.

And give signs and wonders on Pharaoh, And on all his servants, And on all the people of his land, For You have known that they have acted proudly against them, And You make to Yourself a name as [at] this day.

11 You split the sea apart in front of them so that they could walk through it on dry ground. But you threw their pursuers into the depths of the sea, like stones thrown into raging waters.

And You have cleaved the sea before them, And they pass over into the midst of the sea on the dry land, And their pursuers You have cast into the depths, As a stone, into the strong waters.

12 You led them with a column of cloud during the day, and a column of fire at night, showing them the way which they should go.

And by a pillar of cloud You have led them by day, And by a pillar of fire by night, To lighten to them the way in which they go.

13 You descended on Mount Sinai. You spoke to them from heaven. You gave them right ways to live, true laws, and good regulations and commandments.

And on Mount Sinai You have come down, Even to speak with them from the heavens, And You give to them right judgments, And true laws, good statutes and commands.

14 You explained your holy Sabbath to them. You gave them commandments and regulations and laws through your servant Moses.

And Your holy Sabbath You have made known to them, And commands, and statutes, and law, You have commanded for them, By the hand of Your servant Moses;

15 When they were hungry you gave them bread from heaven, and when they were thirsty you brought water out of the rock for them. You told them to go and take ownership of the land which you had sworn to give them.

And bread from the heavens You have given to them for their hunger, And water from a rock have brought out to them for their thirst, And say to them to go in to possess the land That You have lifted up Your hand to give to them.

16 But they and our forefathers acted arrogantly and became stubborn, and didn't pay attention to your commands.

And they and our fathers have acted proudly, And harden their neck, And have not listened to Your commands,

17 They refused to listen to you, and forgot about all the miracles you did for them. They became obstinate and decided to choose themselves a leader to take them back to slavery in Egypt. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and merciful, slow to get angry, and full of trustworthy love. You did not give up on them,

Indeed, they refuse to listen, And have not remembered Your wonders that You have done with them, And harden their neck and appoint a head, To turn back to their service, in their rebellion; And You [are] a God of pardons, Gracious, and merciful, long-suffering, and abundant in kindness, And have not forsaken them.

18 even when they made themselves a metal calf and said, ‘This is your god who led you out of Egypt,’ and committed terrible blasphemies.

Also, when they have made to themselves a molten calf, And say, This [is] your god That brought you up out of Egypt, And do great despisings,

19 But you because you are so merciful didn't abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud didn't stop guiding them during the day, and the column of fire continued to light their way at night.

and You, in Your abundant mercies, Have not forsaken them in the wilderness—The pillar of the cloud has not turned aside from off them by day, To lead them in the way, And the pillar of the fire by night, To give light to them and the way in which they go.

20 You gave your good Spirit to teach them. You did not stop feeding them with your manna, and you gave them water when they were thirsty.

And Your good Spirit You have given, To cause them to act wisely; And Your manna You have not withheld from their mouth, And water You have given to them for their thirst,

21 You took care of them for forty years in the desert. Their clothes didn't wear out, they didn't want for anything. Their feet didn't even swell up!

And forty years You have nourished them in a wilderness; They have not lacked; Their garments have not worn out, And their feet have not swelled.

22 You gave them kingdoms and nations; you assigned their borders. They took control of the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon, and of Og, king of Bashan.

And You give to them kingdoms, and peoples, And apportion them to the corner, And they possess the land of Sihon, And the land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 You made their descendants as countless as the stars of heaven, and led them to the land you had promised their fathers they would enter and possess.

And You have multiplied their sons as the stars of the heavens, And bring them into the land That You have said to their fathers to go in to possess.

24 Their descendants went in and took over the land. Right in front of them you conquered the Canaanites who lived there, handing over their kings and people so they could do with them whatever they wanted.

And the sons come in, and possess the land, And You humble the inhabitants of the land—the Canaanites—before them, And give them into their hand, and their kings, And the peoples of the land, To do with them according to their pleasure.

25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of valuable things, water cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and many fruit trees. They ate until they were full, and grew fat. They were so happy at how good you were to them.

And they capture fortified cities, and fat ground, And possess houses full of all good, Dug-wells, vineyards, and olive-yards, And fruit-trees in abundance, And they eat, and are satisfied, And become fat, And delight themselves in Your great goodness.

26 But they completely rebelled against you. They tossed your Law over their shoulders. They killed your prophets who warned them to try and bring them back to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.

And they are disobedient, And rebel against You, And cast Your law behind their back, And Your prophets they have slain, Who testified against them, To bring them back to You, And they do great despisings,

27 So you handed them over to their enemies who treated them badly. In their suffering they cried out to you for help. But you heard their cries from heaven, and because you're so merciful you sent them leaders to save them from their enemies.

And You give them into the hand of their adversaries, And they distress them, And in the time of their distress they cry to You, And You, from the heavens, hear, And according to Your abundant mercies, Give saviors to them, And they save them out of the hand of their adversaries.

28 However, as soon as they had peace, they went back to doing evil in your sight. So once more you handed them over to their enemies, who dominated them. They came back to you, and they cried out to you again. But you heard from heaven once more, and you saved them time and again because you are so merciful.

And when they have rest, They turn back to do evil before You, And You leave them in the hand of their enemies, And they rule over them; And they return, and call You, And You hear from the heavens, And deliver them many times, According to Your mercies,

29 You warned them to come back to your Law, but they were arrogant. They ignored your commands, and sinned against your rules, which, as you previously said, ‘If people obey they will live by them.’ They obstinately turned their backs on you and refused to listen.

And testify against them, To bring them back to Your law; And they have acted proudly, And have not listened to Your commands, And against Your judgments have sinned—Which man does and has lived in them—And they give a stubborn shoulder, And have hardened their neck, And have not listened.

30 You were patient with them for many years. You warned them by your Spirit through your prophets, but they didn't listen, so you handed them over to the other nations.

And You draw over them many years, And testify against them by Your Spirit, By the hand of Your prophets, And they have not given ear, And You give them into the hand of peoples of the lands,

31 But because of your wonderful mercy you did not finish with them, and you did not abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

and in Your abundant mercies You have not made them a consumption, Nor have forsaken them; For a God, gracious and merciful, [are] You.

32 So now, our God, the great and powerful and awesome God who keeps his agreement of trustworthy love, please don't see as unimportant all the hardships that have happened to us, and to our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our forefather and all your people, from the time of the Assyrian kings of Assyria up till now.

And now, O our God—God, the great, the mighty, And the fearful, Keeping the covenant and the kindness—Do not let all the travail that has found us be little before You, For our kings, for our heads, and for our priests, And for our prophets, and for our fathers, And for all Your people, From the days of the kings of Asshur to this day;

33 But you have done what is right regarding everything that has happened to us. You have always acted faithfully, while we have done so much evil.

And You [are] righteous concerning all that has come on us, For You have done truth, And we have done wickedly;

34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our forefathers did not follow your Law, and they ignored your commands and regulations you ordered them to keep.

And our kings, our heads, Our priests, and our fathers, Have not done Your law, Nor attended to Your commands, And to Your testimonies, That You have testified against them;

35 But they, even during the time they had their own kingdom, with so many blessings you had given them in the wide and fertile land you had provided for them, even then they refused to serve you and would not turn from their evil ways.

And they, in their kingdom, And in Your abundant goodness, That You have given to them, And in the land, the large and the fat, That You have set before them, Have not served You, Nor turned back from their evil doings.

36 Look at us now, slaves in the land you gave our forefathers to enjoy its fruit and all its good things. Look at us slaves here!

Behold, we—today—[are] servants, And the land that You have given to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its good, Behold, we [are] servants on it,

37 The rich harvests of this land go to the kings you have placed over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and our cattle, doing whatever they want. We are suffering so much!”

And its increase it is multiplying to the kings Whom You have set over us In our sins; And over our bodies they are ruling, And over our livestock, According to their pleasure, And we [are] in great distress.

38 In response the people declared, “Considering all this, we are making a solemn agreement, putting it in writing. It is sealed by our leaders, Levites, and priests.”

And for all this we are making a steadfast covenant, And are writing, And over him who is sealed [Are] our heads, our Levites, [and] our priests.”