Nehemiæ 9

1 In die autem vigesimo quarto mensis hujus, convenerunt filii Israël in jejunio et in saccis, et humus super eos.

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.

2 Et separatum est semen filiorum Israël ab omni filio alienigena: et steterunt, et confitebantur peccata sua, et iniquitates patrum suorum.

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

3 Et consurrexerunt ad standum: et legerunt in volumine legis Domini Dei sui, quater in die, et quater confitebantur, et adorabant Dominum Deum suum.

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.

4 Surrexerunt autem super gradum Levitarum Josue, et Bani, et Cedmihel, Sabania, Bonni, Sarebias, Bani, et Chanani: et clamaverunt voce magna ad Dominum Deum suum.

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.

5 Et dixerunt Levitæ Josue, et Cedmihel, Bonni, Hasebnia, Serebia, Odaia, Sebnia, Phathathia: Surgite, benedicite Domino Deo vestro ab æterno usque in æternum: et benedicant nomini gloriæ tuæ excelso in omni benedictione et laude.

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.

6 Tu ipse, Domine, solus, tu fecisti cælum, et cælum cælorum, et omnem exercitum eorum: terram, et universa quæ in ea sunt: maria, et omnia quæ in eis sunt: et tu vivificas omnia hæc, et exercitus cæli te adorat.

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.

7 Tu ipse, Domine Deus, qui elegisti Abram, et eduxisti eum de igne Chaldæorum, et posuisti nomen ejus Abraham:

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

8 et invenisti cor ejus fidele coram te, et percussisti cum eo fœdus ut dares ei terram Chananæi, Hethæi, et Amorrhæi, et Pherezæi, et Jebusæi, et Gergesæi, ut dares semini ejus: et implesti verba tua, quoniam justus es.

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.

9 Et vidisti afflictionem patrum nostrorum in Ægypto, clamoremque eorum audisti super mare Rubrum.

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

10 Et dedisti signa atque portenta in Pharaone, et in universis servis ejus, et in omni populo terræ illius: cognovisti enim quia superbe egerant contra eos: et fecisti tibi nomen, sicut et in hac die.

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.

11 Et mare divisisti ante eos, et transierunt per medium maris in sicco: persecutores autem eorum projecisti in profundum, quasi lapidem in aquas validas.

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.

12 Et in columna nubis ductor eorum fuisti per diem, et in columna ignis per noctem, ut appareret eis via per quam ingrediebantur.

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.

13 Ad montem quoque Sinai descendisti, et locutus es cum eis de cælo, et dedisti eis judicia recta, et legem veritatis, cæremonias, et præcepta bona:

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.

14 et sabbatum sanctificatum tuum ostendisti eis: et mandata, et cæremonias, et legem præcepisti eis in manu Moysi servi tui.

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

15 Panem quoque de cælo dedisti eis in fame eorum, et aquam de petra eduxisti eis sitientibus, et dixisti eis ut ingrederentur et possiderent terram, super quam levasti manum tuam ut traderes eis.

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.

16 Ipsi vero et patres nostri superbe egerunt, et induraverunt cervices suas, et non audierunt mandata tua.

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

17 Et noluerunt audire, et non sunt recordati mirabilium tuorum quæ feceras eis. Et induraverunt cervices suas, et dederunt caput ut converterentur ad servitutem suam, quasi per contentionem. Tu autem, Deus propitius, clemens, et misericors, longanimis, et multæ miserationis, non dereliquisti eos,

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.

18 et quidem cum fecissent sibi vitulum conflatilem, et dixissent: Iste est deus tuus, qui eduxit te de Ægypto: feceruntque blasphemias magnas:

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,

19 tu autem in misericordiis tuis multis non dimisisti eos in deserto: columna nubis non recessit ab eis per diem ut duceret eos in viam, et columna ignis per noctem ut ostenderet eis iter per quod ingrederentur.

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.

20 Et spiritum tuum bonum dedisti, qui doceret eos: et manna tuum non prohibuisti ab ore eorum, et aquam dedisti eis in siti.

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.

21 Quadraginta annis pavisti eos in deserto, nihilque eis defuit: vestimenta eorum non inveteraverunt, et pedes eorum non sunt attriti.

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.

22 Et dedisti eis regna, et populos, et partitus es eis sortes: et possederunt terram Sehon, et terram regis Hesebon, et terram Og regis Basan.

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.

23 Et multiplicasti filios eorum sicut stellas cæli, et adduxisti eos ad terram de qua dixeras patribus eorum ut ingrederentur et possiderent.

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.

24 Et venerunt filii, et possederunt terram, et humiliasti coram eis habitatores terræ Chananæos, et dedisti eos in manu eorum, et reges eorum, et populos terræ, ut facerent eis sicut placebant illis.

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.

25 Ceperunt itaque urbes munitas et humum pinguem, et possederunt domos plenas cunctis bonis: cisternas ab aliis fabricatas, vineas, et oliveta, et ligna pomifera multa: et comederunt, et saturati sunt, et impinguati sunt, et abundaverunt deliciis in bonitate tua magna.

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.

26 Provocaverunt autem te ad iracundiam, et recesserunt a te, et projecerunt legem tuam post terga sua: et prophetas tuos occiderunt, qui contestabantur eos ut reverterentur ad te: feceruntque blasphemias grandes.

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.

27 Et dedisti eos in manu hostium suorum, et afflixerunt eos. Et in tempore tribulationis suæ clamaverunt ad te, et tu de cælo audisti, et secundum miserationes tuas multas dedisti eis salvatores, qui salvarent eos de manu hostium suorum.

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.

28 Cumque requievissent, reversi sunt ut facerent malum in conspectu tuo, et dereliquisti eos in manu inimicorum suorum, et possederunt eos. Conversique sunt, et clamaverunt ad te: tu autem de cælo exaudisti, et liberasti eos in misericordiis tuis, multis temporibus.

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.

29 Et contestatus es eos ut reverterentur ad legem tuam. Ipsi vero superbe egerunt, et non audierunt mandata tua, et in judiciis tuis peccaverunt, quæ faciet homo, et vivet in eis: et dederunt humerum recedentem, et cervicem suam induraverunt, nec audierunt.

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.

30 Et protraxisti super eos annos multos, et contestatus es eos in spiritu tuo per manum prophetarum tuorum: et non audierunt, et tradidisti eos in manu populorum terrarum.

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.

31 In misericordiis autem tuis plurimis non fecisti eos in consumptionem, nec dereliquisti eos: quoniam Deus miserationum et clemens es tu.

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.

32 Nunc itaque Deus noster magne, fortis et terribilis, custodiens pactum et misericordiam, ne avertas a facie tua omnem laborem, qui invenit nos, reges nostros, et principes nostros, et sacerdotes nostros, et prophetas nostros, et patres nostros, et omnem populum tuum a diebus regis Assur usque in diem hanc.

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.

33 Et tu justus es in omnibus quæ venerunt super nos: quia veritatem fecisti, nos autem impie egimus.

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

34 Reges nostri, principes nostri, sacerdotes nostri et patres nostri non fecerunt legem tuam, et non attenderunt mandata tua, et testimonia tua quæ testificatus es in eis.

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.

35 Et ipsi in regnis suis, et in bonitate tua multa quam dederas eis, et in terra latissima et pingui quam tradideras in conspectu eorum, non servierunt tibi, nec reversi sunt a studiis suis pessimis.

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.

36 Ecce nos ipsi hodie servi sumus: et terra quam dedisti patribus nostris ut comederent panem ejus, et quæ bona sunt ejus, et nos ipsi servi sumus in ea.

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!

37 Et fruges ejus multiplicantur regibus quos posuisti super nos propter peccata nostra: et corporibus nostris dominantur, et jumentis nostris secundum voluntatem suam: et in tribulatione magna sumus.

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.

38 Super omnibus ergo his nos ipsi percutimus fœdus, et scribimus: et signant principes nostri, Levitæ nostri, et sacerdotes nostri.

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