Nehemiah 9
1 In the foure and twentieth day of this moneth the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackecloth, and earth vpon them.
On October 31, the people gathered together again. They (fasted/abstained from eating food), they wore clothes made from rough cloth, and they put dirt on their heads [to show that they were sorry for their sins].
2 (And they that were of the seede of Israel were separated from all the strangers) and they stoode and confessed their sinnes and the iniquities of their fathers.
The Israeli people separated themselves from all the foreigners. They stood there and confessed their sins and the sins that their ancestors had committed.
3 And they stood vp in their place and read in the booke of the Lawe of the Lord their GOD foure times on the day, and they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God foure times.
The scroll that contained the laws of Yahweh, the God whom they [worshiped], was read to them for three hours. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and they worshiped Yahweh.
4 Then stoode vp vpon the staires of the Leuites Ieshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cryed with a loud voyce vnto the Lord their God.
[Some of] the descendants of Levi were standing on the stairs. They were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, [another] Bani, and Kenani.
5 And the Leuites said, euen Ieshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodiiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah, Stande vp, and praise the Lord your God for euer, and euer, and let them praise thy glorious Name, O God, which excelleth aboue all thankesgiuing and praise.
Then [the leaders of] the Levites called out to the people. They were Jeshua, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said, “While you are standing there, praise Yahweh your God, who has always lived and will live forever!” [Then one of them continued by praying this to God], “Yahweh, we praise your glorious name! You are much greater than anything that we can think about or talk about!
6 Thou art Lord alone: thou hast made heauen, and the heauen of all heauens, with all their hoste, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and al that are in them, and thou preseruest them all, and the host of the heauen worshippeth thee.
“You only are God. You made the sky and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and everything that is on it, and you made the seas/oceans and everything that is in them. You are the one who gives life to everything and helps them remain alive. All the angels who are in heaven worship you.
7 Thou art, O Lord, the God, that hast chosen Abram, and broughtest him out of Vr in Caldea, and madest his name Abraham,
“Yahweh, you are God. You chose Abram and brought him out of Ur [city] in Chaldea [region]. You gave him a new name, Abraham.
8 And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a couenant with him, to giue vnto his seede the lande of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, and Perizzites, and Iebusites, and Girgashites, and hast performed thy wordes, because thou art iust.
You saw that he was trustworthy. Then you made (an agreement with/a promise to) him, saying that you would give [to him and] to his descendants the land that the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Amor, Periz, Jebus, and Girgash lived in. And you have done what you promised, because you always do what is right.
9 Thou hast also considered the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the red Sea,
“You saw what our ancestors were suffering in Egypt. You heard them cry to you for help when they were at the Red Sea.
10 And shewed tokens and wonders vpon Pharaoh, and on all his seruants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudely against them: therefore thou madest thee a Name, as appeareth this day.
Because you knew that the leaders of Egypt were treating our ancestors very arrogantly, you performed many kinds of miracles that caused the king and his officials and all his people to suffer. As a result, you became famous then, and you are still famous!
11 For thou didest breake vp the Sea before them, and they went through the middes of the Sea on dry lande: and those that pursued them, hast thou cast into the bottomes as a stone, in the mightie waters:
You caused the Red Sea to divide, with the result that your people walked through it on the ground without [getting their feet] wet. [After they were all safely on the other side, ] you [caused the water to come back again], and you hurled into the deep water the [soldiers of the Egyptian army] that were pursuing our ancestors. Their soldiers sank into the deep sea like stones!
12 And leddest them in the day with a pillar of a cloude, and in the night with a pillar of fire to giue them light in the way that they went.
During each day you led our ancestors with a bright cloud that resembled a huge pillar, and each night you led them by a flaming cloud that gave them light to show them where to walk.
13 Thou camest downe also vpon mount Sinai, and spakest vnto them from heauen, and gauest them right iudgements, and true lawes, ordinances and good commandements,
“When our ancestors were at Sinai Mountain, you came down from heaven and spoke to them. You gave them many regulations and instructions that are just and reliable, and you gave them commands and laws that are good.
14 And declaredst vnto them thine holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, and ordinances, and lawes, by the hande of Moses thy seruant:
You taught them about your holy (Sabbath/day of rest), and you gave many kinds of laws to your servant Moses for him to tell to the people.
15 And gauest them bread from heauen for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rocke for their thirst: and promisedst them that they shoulde goe in, and take possession of the land: for the which thou haddest lift vp thine hand for to giue them.
When they were hungry, you gave them manna from the sky; and when they were thirsty, you gave them water from a rock. You commanded them to go and take, from the people who lived there, the land which you had promised to give to them.
16 But they and our fathers behaued them selues proudely, and hardened their neck, so that they hearkened not vnto thy commandements,
“But our ancestors were very proud and stubborn [IDM], and they did not do what you commanded them to do.
17 But refused to obey, and would not remember thy marueilous works that thou haddest done for them, but hardened their neckes, and had in their heads to returne to their bondage by their rebellion: but thou, O God of mercies, gratious and full of compassion, of long suffring and of great mercie, yet forsookest them not.
They refused to heed you, and they forgot about all the miracles that you had performed for them. Instead, they became stubborn [IDM], and they appointed someone to lead them back to Egypt, where they would be slaves again! But you are a God who forgives us and who is kind and merciful [to us]. You do not quickly become angry. You always faithfully love us.
18 Moreouer, when they made them a molten calfe (and said, This is thy God that brought thee vp out of the land of Egypt) and committed great blasphemies,
So, even though their [leaders] made an idol that resembled a calf and insulted you by saying [about the idol], ‘This is our god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ you did not desert them.
19 Yet thou for thy great mercies forsookest them not in the wildernesse: the pillar of the cloude departed not from them by day to leade them the way, neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way whereby they should goe.
“Because you always act mercifully, you did not abandon them when they were in the desert. The bright cloud which was like a huge pillar continued to lead them during the daytime, and the fiery cloud showed them where to walk at night.
20 Thou gauest also thy good Spirite to instruct them, and withheldest not thy MAN from their mouth, and gauest them water for their thirst.
You sent your good Spirit to instruct them. You continued to provide water when they were thirsty.
21 Thou didest also feede them fourtie yeres in ye wildernes: they lacked nothing: their clothes waxed not old, and their feete swelled not.
For 40 years you took care of them in the desert. During all that time, they had everything [that they needed]. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell up [even though they were continually walking].
22 And thou gauest them kingdomes and people, and scatteredst them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon and the land of ye King of Heshbon, and the land of Og King of Bashan.
“You helped our ancestors to defeat armies of great kings who ruled many people-groups. By doing that, you enabled our ancestors to (occupy/live in) even the most distant places in this land. They occupied the land over which King Sihon ruled from Heshbon [city] and the land over which King Og ruled in [the] Bashan [area].
23 And thou diddest multiplie their children, like the starres of the heauen, and broughtest them into the lande, whereof thou haddest spoken vnto their fathers, that they should goe, and possesse it.
You caused our ancestors’ descendants to become as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into this land, the land that you told their fathers to enter and occupy.
24 So the children went in, and possessed the lande, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the lande, euen the Canaanites, and gauest them into their handes, with their Kings and the people of the lande, that they might do with them what they would.
Their sons went in and took the land [from the people that lived there]. You enabled them to defeat the descendants of Canaan who lived here in this land. You enabled them to conquer the descendants of Canaan and their kings and the people whom they ruled. You enabled our ancestors to do to those people whatever they wanted to do.
25 And they tooke their strong cities and the fat lande, and possessed houses, full of all goods, cisternes digged out, vineyardes, and oliues, and trees for foode in abundance, and they did eate, and were filled, and became fat, and liued in pleasure through thy great goodnesse.
Our ancestors captured cities that had walls around them, and they took possession of fertile land. They took possession of houses that were full of good things, where there were wells that were already dug. They took possession of many vineyards and groves of olive trees and fruit trees. They ate all that they wanted to and became fat. They were delighted in all these good things that you gave to them.
26 Yet they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy Lawe behinde their backes, and slewe thy Prophets (which protested among them to turne them vnto thee) and committed great blasphemies.
“But they disobeyed you and rebelled against you. They (turned their backs on/rejected) your laws. They killed the prophets who warned them that they should return to you. They badly insulted you.
27 Therefore thou deliueredst them into the hande of their enemies that vexed them: yet in the time of their affliction, when they cryed vnto thee, thou heardest them from the heauen, and through thy great mercies thou gauest them sauiours, who saued them out of the hande of their aduersaries.
So you allowed their enemies to defeat them. But when their enemies caused them to suffer, they called out to you. You heard them from heaven, and because you are very merciful, you sent them people to help them, and those leaders rescued them from their enemies.
28 But when they had rest, they returned to doe euill before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hande of their enemies, so that they had the dominion ouer them, yet when they conuerted and cryed vnto thee, thou heardest them from heauen, and deliueredst them according to thy great mercies many times,
“But after there was a time of peace again, our ancestors again did things that displeased you. So again you allowed their enemies to conquer them. But whenever they cried out to you again [to help them], you heard them from heaven, and because you act mercifully, you rescued them many times.
29 And protestedst among them that thou mightest bring them againe vnto thy Lawe: but they behaued them selues proudely, and hearkened not vnto thy commandements, but sinned against thy iudgements (which a man should doe and liue in them) and pulled away the shoulder, and were stiffenecked, and woulde not heare.
“You warned them that they should again [obey] your laws, but they became proud and stubborn, and they disobeyed your commands. They sinned by disobeying what you commanded them to do, the things that would enable them to live a good long life [if they obeyed them]. They stubbornly refused [IDM] to listen to you and continued sinning.
30 Yet thou diddest forbeare them many yeeres, and protestedst among them by thy Spirite, euen by the hande of thy Prophets, but they woulde not heare: therefore gauest thou them into the hande of the people of the lands.
You were patient with them for many years. You warned them trough [the messages] your Spirit gave to the prophets. But they did not (heed/pay attention to) those messages. So again you allowed [the armies of] other nations to defeat them.
31 Yet for thy great mercies thou hast not consumed them, neither forsaken them: for thou art a gracious and mercifull God.
But because you act very mercifully, you did not get rid of them completely or abandon them [forever]. You are a very gracious/kind and merciful God!
32 Nowe therefore our God, thou great God, mightie and terrible, that keepest couenant and mercie, let not all the affliction that hath come vnto vs, seeme a litle before thee, that is, to our Kings, to our princes, and to our Priests, and to our Prophets, and to our fathers, and to all thy people since the time of the Kings of Asshur vnto this day.
“Our God, you are great! You are mighty! You are awesome! You faithfully love us as [you promised in] your agreement with us that you would do! But now we are experiencing great difficulties/hardships. Great troubles have come to us, to our kings, to our [other] leaders, to our priests, and to our prophets. We have been experiencing these troubles since [the armies of] the kings of Assyria [conquered us], and we are still experiencing them. We ask that you sincerely think about [LIT] all these things.
33 Surely thou art iust in all that is come vpon vs: for thou hast dealt truely, but we haue done wickedly.
[We know that] you acted justly each time that you punished us. We have sinned greatly, but you have treated us fairly.
34 And our kings and our princes, our Priests and our fathers haue not done thy Lawe, nor regarded thy commandements nor thy protestations, wherewith thou hast protested among them.
Our kings and other leaders and our priests and our other ancestors did not obey your laws. They did not heed your commands or the warnings that you gave to them.
35 And they haue not serued thee in their kingdome, and in thy great goodnesse that thou shewedst vnto them, and in the large and fat lande which thou diddest set before them, and haue not conuerted from their euill workes.
Even when they had their own kings, and they enjoyed the good things that you did for them in this large and fertile land that you gave to them, they did not serve you. They refused to quit doing what was evil.
36 Beholde, we are seruants this day, and the lande that thou gauest vnto our fathers, to eate the fruite thereof, and the goodnesse thereof, beholde, we are seruants therein.
“So now we are [like] slaves here in this land that you gave to our ancestors, the land that you gave to them in order that they could enjoy all the good things that grow here.
37 And it yeeldeth much fruit vnto the kings whom thou hast set ouer vs, because of our sinnes: and they haue dominion ouer our bodyes and ouer our cattell at their pleasure, and we are in great affliction.
Because we have sinned, [we cannot eat the things that grow here]. The kings that now rule over us are enjoying the things that grow here. They rule us and [take] our cattle. We have to serve them and do the things that please them. We are experiencing great misery/distress.
38 Now because of all this we make a sure couenant, and write it, and our princes, our Leuites and our Priestes seale vnto it.
“However, we [Israeli] people now are making an agreement/promise [to obey you], and we are writing this agreement/promise [on a scroll]. We will write on it the names of our leaders and the names of the Levites and the names of the priests, and then we will seal it.”
