Nehemiah 9

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of the same month the people of Israel were assembled and they were fasting, and they were wearing sackcloth, and they put dust on their heads.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel assembled with fasting, and in sackcloths, and with ashes on their head.

2 The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all the foreigners. They stood and confessed their own sins and the evil actions of their ancestors.

And the children of Israel separated themselves from every stranger, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

3 They stood up in their places, and for one-fourth of the day they read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God. For another fourth of the day they were confessing and bowing down before Yahweh their God.

And they stood in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their god: and they confessed [their sins] to the Lord, and worshipped the Lord their God.

4 The Levites, Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani, stood on the stairs and they called out with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.

[And] there stood upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jesus, and the sons of Cadmiel, Sechenia the son of Sarabia, sons of Choneni; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.

5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, “Stand up and give praise to Yahweh your God forever and ever.” “May they bless your glorious name, and may it be exalted above every blessing and praise.

And the Levites, Jesus and Cadmiel, said, Rise up, bless the Lord our God forever and ever: and let them bless your glorious name, and exalt it with all blessing and praise.

6 You are Yahweh. You alone. You have made heaven, the highest heavens, with all their host, and the earth and everything on it, and the seas and all that is in them. You give life to them all, and the host of heaven worship you.

And Esdras said, You are the only true Lord; you made the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, and all their array, the earth, and all things that are in it, the seas, and all things in them; and you quicken all things, and the hosts of heaven worship you.

7 You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name Abraham.

You are the Lord God, you did choose Abram, and brought him out of the land of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name of Abraam:

8 You found his heart was faithful before you, and you made with him the covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.

and you found his heart faithful before you, and did make a covenant with him to give to him and to his seed the land of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Pherezites, and Jebusites, and Gergesites; and you have confirmed your words, for you [are] righteous.

9 You saw the affliction of our forefathers in Egypt and you heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds.

And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea.

10 You gave signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and on all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians acted with arrogance against them. But you made a name for yourself which stands to this day.

And you showed signs and wonders in Egypt, on Pharao and all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for you know that they behaved insolently against them: and you made yourself a name, as at this day.

11 Then you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and threw those who pursued them into the depths, as a stone into deep waters.

And you did cleave the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land; and you did cast into the deep them that were about to pursue them, as a stone in the mighty water.

12 You led them by a pillar of cloud during by day, and by a pillar of fire during the night to light the way for them to go.

And you guided them by day by a pillar of cloud, and by night by a pillar of fire, to enlighten for them the way wherein they should walk.

13 On Mount Sinai you came down and you spoke with them from heaven and gave to them righteous decrees and true laws, good statutes and commandments.

Also you came down upon mount Sina, and you spoke to them out of heaven, and gave them right judgements, and laws of truth, ordinances, and good commandments.

14 You made your holy Sabbath known to them, and you gave them commandments and statutes and a law through Moses your servant.

And you did make known to them your holy sabbath; you did enjoin upon them commandments, and ordinances, and a law, by the hand of your servant Moses.

15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and water from a rock for their thirst, and you said to them to go in to possess the land you swore on oath to give them.

And you gave them bread from heaven for their food, and you brought them forth water from a rock for their thirst; and you bade them go in to inherit the land over which you stretched out your hand to give [it] them.

16 But they and our ancestors acted disrespectfully, and they were stubborn, and did not listen to your commandments.

But they and our fathers behaved proudly, and hardened their neck, and did not listen to your commandments,

17 They refused to listen, and they did not think about the wonders that you had done among them, but became stubborn, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their slavery. But you are a God who is full of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. You did not abandon them.

and refused to listen, and remembered not your wonders which you wrought with them; and they hardened their neck, and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt: but you, O God, [are] merciful and compassionate, longsuffering, and abundant in mercy, and you did not forsake them.

18 Even when they had cast a calf out of molten metal and said, 'This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies,

And still farther they even made to themselves a molten calf, and said, These [are] the gods that brought us up out of Egypt: and they wrought great provocations.

19 you, in your compassion, did not abandon them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them on the way did not leave them during day, neither did the pillar of fire by night to light the way for them to go.

Yet you in your great compassions did not forsake them in the wilderness: you did not turn away from them the pillar of the cloud by day, to guide them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to enlighten for them the way wherein they should walk.

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

And you gave your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not withhold your manna from their mouth, and gave them water in their thirst.

21 For forty years you provided for them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

And you did sustain them forty years in the wilderness; you did not allow anything to fail them: their garments did not wax old, and their feet were not bruised.

22 You gave them kingdoms and peoples, assigning to them every corner of the land. Then they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan.

Moreover, you gave them kingdoms, and did divide nations to them: and they inherited the land of Seon king of Esebon, and the land of Og king of Basan.

23 You made their children as numerous as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you told their ancestors to go in and possess.

And you did multiply their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land of which you spoke to their fathers;

24 So the people went in and possessed the land and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites. You gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that Israel might do with them as they pleased.

And they inherited it: and you did destroy from before them the dwellers in the land of the Chananites, and you gave into their hands them and their kings, and the nations of the land, to do to them as it pleased them.

25 They captured the fortified cities and a productive land, and they captured houses full of all good things, cisterns already cut out, vineyards and olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were satisfied and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in your great goodness.

And they took lofty cities, and inherited houses full of all good things, wells dug, vineyards, and olive yards, and every fruit tree in abundance: so they ate, and were filled, and grew fat, and rioted in your great goodness.

26 Then they became disobedient and they rebelled against you. They threw your law behind their backs. They murdered your prophets who had warned them to turn back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.

But they turned, and revolted from you, and cast your law behind their backs; and they killed your prophets, who testified against them to turn them back to you, and they wrought great provocations.

27 So you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. In the time of their suffering, they cried out to you, and you heard them from heaven, and because of your great mercies you sent them rescuers who rescued them out of the hand of their enemies.

Then you gave them into the hand of them that afflicted them, and they did afflict them: and they cried to you in the time of their affliction, and you did hear them from your heaven, and in your great compassions gave them deliverers, and did save them from the hand of them that afflicted them.

28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so their enemies ruled over them. Yet when they returned and cried out to you, you heard from heaven, and many times because of your compassion you rescued them.

But when they rested, they did evil again before you: so you left them in the hands of their enemies, and they ruled over them: and they cried again to you, and you heard [them] from heaven, and did deliver them in your great compassions.

29 You warned them so they might turn back to your law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to your commands. They sinned against your decrees which give life to anyone who obeys them. They gave the stubborn shoulder-blade and stiffened their neck and refused to listen.

And you did testify against them, to bring them back to your law: but they listened not, but sinned against your commandments and your judgements, which if a man do, he shall live in them; and they turned their back, and hardened their neck, and heard not.

30 For many years you put up with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they did not listen. So you gave them into the hand of the neighboring peoples.

Yet you did bear long with them many years, and did testify to them by your Spirit by the hand of your prophets: but they listened not; so you gave them into the hand of the nations of the land.

31 But in your great mercies you did not make a complete end of them, or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

But you in your many mercies did not appoint them to destruction, and did not forsake them; for you are strong, and merciful, and pitiful.

32 Now therefore, our God—you great, mighty, and awesome God who keep your covenant and steadfast love—do not let all this hardship seem little to you that has come on us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our ancestors, and on all your people from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.

And now, O our God, the powerful, the great, the mighty, and the terrible, keeping your covenant and your mercy, let not all the trouble seem little in your sight which has come upon us, and our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and upon all your people, from the days of the kings of Assur even to this day.

33 You are just in everything that has come on us, for you have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly.

But you [are] righteous in all the things that come upon us; for you have wrought faithfully, but we have greatly sinned.

34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law, nor paid attention to your commandments or your covenant decrees by which you warned them.

And our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our fathers, have not performed your law, and have not given heed to your commandments, and [have not kept] your testimonies which you did testify to them.

35 Even in their own kingdom, while they enjoyed your great goodness to them, in the large and productive land you set before them, they did not serve you or turn away from their evil ways.

And they did not serve you in your kingdom, and in your great goodness which you gave to them, and in the large and fat land which you did furnish before them, and they turned not from their evil devices.

36 Now we are slaves in the land you gave our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, and behold, we are slaves in it!

Behold, we are servants this day, and [as for] the land which you gave to our fathers to eat the fruit of it and the good things of it, behold, we are servants upon it:

37 The rich yield from our land goes to the kings you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.

and its produce [is] abundant for the kings whom you did appoint over us because of our sins; and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, as it pleases them, and we are in great affliction.

38 Because of all this, we make a firm covenant in writing. On the sealed document are the names of our princes, Levites, and priests.”

And in regard to all these circumstances we make a covenant, and write [it], and our princes, our Levites, [and] our priests, set their seal to [it].