Nehemiah 9

1 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].

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

2 The Israeli people separated themselves from all the foreigners. They stood there and confessed their sins and the sins that their ancestors had committed.

Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

3 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.

While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.

4 [Some of] the descendants of Levi were standing on the stairs. They were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, [another] Bani, and Kenani.

And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God.

5 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!

Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

6 “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.

You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.

7 “Yahweh, you are God. You chose Abram and brought him out of Ur [city] in Chaldea [region]. You gave him a new name, Abraham.

You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.

8 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.

You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, of the Jebusites and Girgashites— to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise, because You are righteous.

9 “You saw what our ancestors were suffering in Egypt. You heard them cry to you for help when they were at the Red Sea.

You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.

10 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!

You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the people of his land, for You knew they had acted with arrogance against our fathers. You made a name for Yourself that endures to this day.

11 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!

You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.

12 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.

You led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they should travel.

13 “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.

You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.

14 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.

You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.

15 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.

In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land which You had sworn to give them.

16 “But our ancestors were very proud and stubborn [IDM], and they did not do what you commanded them to do.

But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments.

17 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.

They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.

18 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.

Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and when they committed terrible blasphemies,

19 “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.

You in Your great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud never turned away from guiding them on their path; and by the night the pillar of fire illuminated the way they should go.

20 You sent your good Spirit to instruct them. You continued to provide water when they were thirsty.

You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.

21 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].

For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

22 “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].

You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.

23 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.

You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.

24 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.

So their descendants went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land. You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land, to do with them as they wished.

25 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.

They captured fortified cities and fertile land and took houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled; they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness.

26 “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.

But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.

27 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.

So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies.

28 “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.

But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion.

29 “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.

You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly shrugged their shoulders; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.

30 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.

You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

31 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!

But in Your great compassion, You did not put an end to them; nor did You forsake them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.

32 “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.

So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.

33 [We know that] you acted justly each time that you punished us. We have sinned greatly, but you have treated us fairly.

You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.

34 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.

Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.

35 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.

For even while they were in their kingdom, with the abundant goodness that You had given them, and in the spacious and fertile land that You had set before them, they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.

36 “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.

So here we are today as slaves in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness— here we are as slaves!

37 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.

Its abundant harvest goes to the kings You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.

38 “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.”

In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”