Nehemiah 9
1 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Thou, art Yahweh, God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, —and madest his 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 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.
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 Yea thou sawest the affliction of our fathers, in Egypt, and, their outcry, thou heardest, by 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 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.
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, 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,
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 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.
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 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.
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, thy holy sabbath, didst thou make known to them, —and, commandments and statutes and a law, didst thou command them, through Moses thy 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 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.
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, dealt proudly, —and hardened their neck, and hearkened not unto thy commandments;
And they and our fathers acted presumptuously, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not to thy commandments.
17 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.
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 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,
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, 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.
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, 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.
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 Yea, forty years, didst thou sustain them in the desert, they lacked nothing, —their mantles, waxed not old and, their feet, swelled not.
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 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.
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 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;
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 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;
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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, 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;
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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, 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.
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, thou, art righteous, as to all that hath fallen upon us, —for, faithfulness, hast thou wrought, whereas, we, have been lawless;
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, 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.
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 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.
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 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;
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, 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.
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 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.
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.
