Ἔσδρας Βʹ 9
1 καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ εἰκοστῇ καὶ τετάρτῃ τοῦ μηνὸς τούτου συνήχθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ ἐν σάκκοις
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 καὶ ἐχωρίσθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ἀπὸ παντὸς υἱοῦ ἀλλοτρίου καὶ ἔστησαν καὶ ἐξηγόρευσαν τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς ἀνομίας τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν
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 καὶ ἔστησαν ἐπὶ στάσει αὐτῶν καὶ ἀνέγνωσαν ἐν βιβλίῳ νόμου κυρίου θεοῦ αὐτῶν καὶ ἦσαν ἐξαγορεύοντες τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ προσκυνοῦντες τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ αὐτῶν
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 καὶ ἔστη ἐπὶ ἀναβάσει τῶν Λευιτῶν Ἰησοῦς καὶ υἱοὶ Καδμιηλ Σαχανια υἱὸς Σαραβια υἱοὶ Χανανι καὶ ἐβόησαν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ πρὸς κύριον τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν
[Some of] the descendants of Levi were standing on the stairs. They were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, [another] Bani, and Kenani.
5 καὶ εἴποσαν οἱ Λευῖται Ἰησοῦς καὶ Καδμιηλ ἀνάστητε εὐλογεῖτε τὸν κύριον θεὸν ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ εὐλογήσουσιν ὄνομα δόξης σου καὶ ὑψώσουσιν ἐπὶ πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ καὶ αἰνέσει
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 καὶ εἶπεν Εσδρας σὺ εἶ αὐτὸς κύριος μόνος σὺ ἐποίησας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν στάσιν αὐτῶν τὴν γῆν καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῇ τὰς θαλάσσας καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐταῖς καὶ σὺ ζωοποιεῖς τὰ πάντα καὶ σοὶ προσκυνοῦσιν αἱ στρατιαὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν
“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 σὺ εἶ κύριος ὁ θεός σὺ ἐξελέξω ἐν Αβραμ καὶ ἐξήγαγες αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς χώρας τῶν Χαλδαίων καὶ ἐπέθηκας αὐτῷ ὄνομα Αβρααμ
“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 καὶ εὗρες τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ πιστὴν ἐνώπιόν σου καὶ διέθου πρὸς αὐτὸν διαθήκην δοῦναι αὐτῷ τὴν γῆν τῶν Χαναναίων καὶ Χετταίων καὶ Αμορραίων καὶ Φερεζαίων καὶ Ιεβουσαίων καὶ Γεργεσαίων καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔστησας τοὺς λόγους σου ὅτι δίκαιος σύ
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 καὶ εἶδες τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ τὴν κραυγὴν αὐτῶν ἤκουσας ἐπὶ θάλασσαν ἐρυθράν
“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 καὶ ἔδωκας σημεῖα ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐν Φαραω καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν παντὶ τῷ λαῷ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἔγνως ὅτι ὑπερηφάνησαν ἐπ’ αὐτούς καὶ ἐποίησας σεαυτῷ ὄνομα ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη
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 καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ἔρρηξας ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν καὶ παρήλθοσαν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς θαλάσσης ἐν ξηρασίᾳ καὶ τοὺς καταδιώξαντας αὐτοὺς ἔρριψας εἰς βυθὸν ὡσεὶ λίθον ἐν ὕδατι σφοδρῷ
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 καὶ ἐν στύλῳ νεφέλης ὡδήγησας αὐτοὺς ἡμέρας καὶ ἐν στύλῳ πυρὸς τὴν νύκτα τοῦ φωτίσαι αὐτοῖς τὴν ὁδόν ἐν ᾗ πορεύσονται ἐν αὐτῇ
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 καὶ ἐπὶ ὄρος Σινα κατέβης καὶ ἐλάλησας πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἔδωκας αὐτοῖς κρίματα εὐθέα καὶ νόμους ἀληθείας προστάγματα καὶ ἐντολὰς ἀγαθάς
“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 καὶ τὸ σάββατόν σου τὸ ἅγιον ἐγνώρισας αὐτοῖς ἐντολὰς καὶ προστάγματα καὶ νόμον ἐνετείλω αὐτοῖς ἐν χειρὶ Μωυσῆ δούλου σου
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 καὶ ἄρτον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκας αὐτοῖς εἰς σιτοδείαν αὐτῶν καὶ ὕδωρ ἐκ πέτρας ἐξήνεγκας αὐτοῖς εἰς δίψαν αὐτῶν καὶ εἶπας αὐτοῖς εἰσελθεῖν κληρονομῆσαι τὴν γῆν ἐφ’ ἣν ἐξέτεινας τὴν χεῖρά σου δοῦναι αὐτοῖς
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 καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ὑπερηφανεύσαντο καὶ ἐσκλήρυναν τὸν τράχηλον αὐτῶν καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν τῶν ἐντολῶν σου
“But our ancestors were very proud and stubborn [IDM], and they did not do what you commanded them to do.
17 καὶ ἀνένευσαν τοῦ εἰσακοῦσαι καὶ οὐκ ἐμνήσθησαν τῶν θαυμασίων σου ὧν ἐποίησας μετ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσκλήρυναν τὸν τράχηλον αὐτῶν καὶ ἔδωκαν ἀρχὴν ἐπιστρέψαι εἰς δουλείαν αὐτῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ σὺ θεὸς ἐλεήμων καὶ οἰκτίρμων μακρόθυμος καὶ πολυέλεος καὶ οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπες αὐτούς
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 ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς μόσχον χωνευτὸν καὶ εἶπαν οὗτοι οἱ θεοὶ οἱ ἐξαγαγόντες ἡμᾶς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐποίησαν παροργισμοὺς μεγάλους
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 καὶ σὺ ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς σου τοῖς πολλοῖς οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπες αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τὸν στῦλον τῆς νεφέλης οὐκ ἐξέκλινας ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἡμέρας ὁδηγῆσαι αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ καὶ τὸν στῦλον τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν νύκτα φωτίζειν αὐτοῖς τὴν ὁδόν ἐν ᾗ πορεύσονται ἐν αὐτῇ
“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 καὶ τὸ πνεῦμά σου τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἔδωκας συνετίσαι αὐτοὺς καὶ τὸ μαννα σοῦ οὐκ ἀφυστέρησας ἀπὸ στόματος αὐτῶν καὶ ὕδωρ ἔδωκας αὐτοῖς τῷ δίψει αὐτῶν
You sent your good Spirit to instruct them. You continued to provide water when they were thirsty.
21 καὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη διέθρεψας αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ οὐχ ὑστέρησαν ἱμάτια αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐπαλαιώθησαν καὶ πόδες αὐτῶν οὐ διερράγησαν
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 καὶ ἔδωκας αὐτοῖς βασιλείας καὶ λαοὺς καὶ διεμέρισας αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐκληρονόμησαν τὴν γῆν Σηων βασιλέως Εσεβων καὶ τὴν γῆν Ωγ βασιλέως τοῦ Βασαν
“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 καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτῶν ἐπλήθυνας ὡς τοὺς ἀστέρας τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ εἰσήγαγες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν εἶπας τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐκληρονόμησαν αὐτήν
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 καὶ ἐξέτριψας ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν γῆν τῶν Χαναναίων καὶ ἔδωκας αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς λαοὺς τῆς γῆς ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς ὡς ἀρεστὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν
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 καὶ κατελάβοσαν πόλεις ὑψηλὰς καὶ ἐκληρονόμησαν οἰκίας πλήρεις πάντων ἀγαθῶν λάκκους λελατομημένους ἀμπελῶνας καὶ ἐλαιῶνας καὶ πᾶν ξύλον βρώσιμον εἰς πλῆθος καὶ ἐφάγοσαν καὶ ἐνεπλήσθησαν καὶ ἐλιπάνθησαν καὶ ἐτρύφησαν ἐν ἀγαθωσύνῃ σου τῇ μεγάλῃ
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 καὶ ἤλλαξαν καὶ ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ ἔρριψαν τὸν νόμον σου ὀπίσω σώματος αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς προφήτας σου ἀπέκτειναν οἳ διεμαρτύραντο ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐπιστρέψαι αὐτοὺς πρὸς σέ καὶ ἐποίησαν παροργισμοὺς μεγάλους
“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 καὶ ἔδωκας αὐτοὺς ἐν χειρὶ θλιβόντων αὐτούς καὶ ἔθλιψαν αὐτούς καὶ ἀνεβόησαν πρὸς σὲ ἐν καιρῷ θλίψεως αὐτῶν καὶ σὺ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ σου ἤκουσας καὶ ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς σου τοῖς μεγάλοις ἔδωκας αὐτοῖς σωτῆρας καὶ ἔσωσας αὐτοὺς ἐκ χειρὸς θλιβόντων αὐτούς
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 καὶ ὡς ἀνεπαύσαντο ἐπέστρεψαν ποιῆσαι τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιόν σου καὶ ἐγκατέλιπες αὐτοὺς εἰς χεῖρας ἐχθρῶν αὐτῶν καὶ κατῆρξαν ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ πάλιν ἀνεβόησαν πρὸς σέ καὶ σὺ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ εἰσήκουσας καὶ ἐρρύσω αὐτοὺς ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς σου πολλοῖς
“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 καὶ ἐπεμαρτύρω αὐτοῖς ἐπιστρέψαι αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν νόμον σου καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν ἀλλὰ ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς σου καὶ ἐν τοῖς κρίμασί σου ἡμάρτοσαν ἃ ποιήσας αὐτὰ ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἔδωκαν νῶτον ἀπειθοῦντα καὶ τράχηλον αὐτῶν ἐσκλήρυναν καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν
“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 καὶ εἵλκυσας ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ἔτη πολλὰ καὶ ἐπεμαρτύρω αὐτοῖς ἐν πνεύματί σου ἐν χειρὶ προφητῶν σου καὶ οὐκ ἠνωτίσαντο καὶ ἔδωκας αὐτοὺς ἐν χειρὶ λαῶν τῆς γῆς
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 καὶ σὺ ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς σου τοῖς πολλοῖς οὐκ ἐποίησας αὐτοὺς συντέλειαν καὶ οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπες αὐτούς ὅτι ἰσχυρὸς εἶ καὶ ἐλεήμων καὶ οἰκτίρμων
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 καὶ νῦν ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ ἰσχυρὸς ὁ μέγας ὁ κραταιὸς καὶ ὁ φοβερὸς φυλάσσων τὴν διαθήκην σου καὶ τὸ ἔλεός σου μὴ ὀλιγωθήτω ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶς ὁ μόχθος ὃς εὗρεν ἡμᾶς καὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς ἡμῶν καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας ἡμῶν καὶ τοὺς ἱερεῖς ἡμῶν καὶ τοὺς προφήτας ἡμῶν καὶ τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν καὶ ἐν παντὶ τῷ λαῷ σου ἀπὸ ἡμερῶν βασιλέων Ασσουρ καὶ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης
“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 καὶ σὺ δίκαιος ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐρχομένοις ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ὅτι ἀλήθειαν ἐποίησας καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐξημάρτομεν
[We know that] you acted justly each time that you punished us. We have sinned greatly, but you have treated us fairly.
34 καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς ἡμῶν καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες ἡμῶν καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς ἡμῶν καὶ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐποίησαν τὸν νόμον σου καὶ οὐ προσέσχον τῶν ἐντολῶν σου καὶ τὰ μαρτύριά σου ἃ διεμαρτύρω αὐτοῖς
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 καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν βασιλείᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ἀγαθωσύνῃ σου τῇ πολλῇ ᾗ ἔδωκας αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ πλατείᾳ καὶ λιπαρᾷ ᾗ ἔδωκας ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐδούλευσάν σοι καὶ οὐκ ἀπέστρεψαν ἀπὸ ἐπιτηδευμάτων αὐτῶν τῶν πονηρῶν
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 ἰδού ἐσμεν σήμερον δοῦλοι καὶ ἡ γῆ ἣν ἔδωκας τοῖς πατράσιν ἡμῶν φαγεῖν τὸν καρπὸν αὐτῆς
“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 τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν οἷς ἔδωκας ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ σώματα ἡμῶν ἐξουσιάζουσιν καὶ ἐν κτήνεσιν ἡμῶν ὡς ἀρεστὸν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐν θλίψει μεγάλῃ ἐσμέν
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 καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις ἡμεῖς διατιθέμεθα πίστιν καὶ γράφομεν καὶ ἐπισφραγίζουσιν πάντες ἄρχοντες ἡμῶν Λευῖται ἡμῶν ἱερεῖς ἡμῶν
“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.”
