Nehemías 9

1 El día veinticuatro de este mes se reunieron los hijos de Israel con ayuno, con cilicio y con tierra sobre ellos.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel came together, taking no food and putting haircloth and dust on their bodies.

2 Los descendientes de Israel se separaron de todos los extranjeros y se pusieron de pie y confesaron sus pecados y las iniquidades de sus padres.

And the seed of Israel made themselves separate from all the men of other nations, publicly requesting forgiveness for their sins and the wrongdoing of their fathers.

3 Se pusieron de pie en su lugar y leyeron en el libro de la ley de Yahvé su Dios la cuarta parte del día; y la cuarta parte la confesaron y adoraron a Yahvé su Dios.

And for a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they were reading from the book of the law of their God; and for a fourth part of the day they were requesting forgiveness and worshipping the Lord their God.

4 Entonces Jesúa, Baní, Cadmiel, Sebanías, Buní, Serebías, Baní y Quenaní, de los levitas, se pusieron de pie en la escalera y clamaron en voz alta a Yahvé su Dios.

Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani took their places on the steps of the Levites, crying in a loud voice to the Lord their God.

5 Entonces los levitas, Jesúa y Cadmiel, Baní, Hasabneías, Serebías, Hodías, Sebanías y Petaías, dijeron: “¡Ponte de pie y bendice a Yahvé, tu Dios, desde la eternidad hasta la eternidad! ¡Bendito sea tu nombre glorioso, que es exaltado sobre toda bendición y alabanza!

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, Get up and give praise to the Lord your God for ever and ever. Praise be to your great name which is lifted up high over all blessing and praise.

6 Tú eres Yahvé, tú solo. Tú has hecho el cielo, el cielo de los cielos, con todo su ejército, la tierra y todo lo que hay en ella, los mares y todo lo que hay en ellos, y tú lo conservas todo. El ejército de los cielos te adora.

You are the Lord, even you only; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their armies, the earth and all things in it, the seas and everything in them; and you keep them from destruction: and the armies of heaven are your worshippers.

7 Tú eres Yahvé, el Dios que eligió a Abram, lo sacó de Ur de los Caldeos, le dio el nombre de Abraham,

You are the Lord, the God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

8 encontró su corazón fiel ante ti, e hizo un pacto con él para darle la tierra del cananeo, del hitita, del amorreo, del ferezeo, del jebuseo y del gergeseo, para dársela a su descendencia, y has cumplido tus palabras, porque eres justo.

You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours:

9 “Viste la aflicción de nuestros padres en Egipto, y oíste su clamor junto al Mar Rojo,

And you saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry came to your ears by the Red Sea;

10 y mostraste señales y prodigios contra el Faraón, contra todos sus siervos y contra todo el pueblo de su tierra, porque sabías que se burlaban de ellos, y te hiciste un nombre, como lo es hoy.

And you did signs and wonders on Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land; for you saw how cruel they were to them. So you got yourself a name as it is today.

11 Dividiste el mar delante de ellos, de modo que pasaron por el medio del mar en seco; y arrojaste a sus perseguidores a las profundidades, como una piedra a las aguas impetuosas.

By you the sea was parted before them, so that they went through the sea on dry land; and those who went after them went down into the deep, like a stone into great waters.

12 Además, en una columna de nube los guiaste de día, y en una columna de fuego de noche, para alumbrarles el camino que debían seguir.

And you went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light on the way they were to go.

13 “También bajaste al monte Sinaí, y hablaste con ellos desde el cielo, y les diste ordenanzas rectas y leyes verdaderas, buenos estatutos y mandamientos,

And you came down on Mount Sinai, and your voice came to them from heaven, giving them right decisions and true laws, good rules and orders:

14 y les diste a conocer tu santo sábado, y les ordenaste mandamientos, estatutos y una ley, por medio de Moisés, tu siervo,

And you gave them word of your holy Sabbath, and gave them orders and rules and a law, by the hand of Moses your servant:

15 y les diste pan del cielo para su hambre, y les sacaste agua de la roca para su sed, y les ordenaste que entraran a poseer la tierra que habías jurado darles.

And you gave them bread from heaven when they were in need, and made water come out of the rock for their drink, and gave them orders to go in and take for their heritage the land which your hand had been lifted up to give them.

16 “Pero ellos y nuestros padres se comportaron con soberbia, endurecieron su cerviz, no escucharon tus mandamientos,

But they and our fathers, in their pride, made their necks stiff, and gave no attention to your orders,

17 y se negaron a obedecer. No tuvieron en cuenta tus maravillas que hiciste entre ellos, sino que endurecieron su cerviz, y en su rebeldía nombraron un capitán para volver a su esclavitud. Pero tú eres un Dios dispuesto a perdonar, clemente y misericordioso, lento para la ira y abundante en bondades, y no los abandonaste.

And would not do them, and gave no thought to the wonders you had done among them; but made their necks stiff, and turning away from you, made a captain over themselves to take them back to their prison in Egypt: but you are a God of forgiveness, full of grace and pity, slow to wrath and great in mercy, and you did not give them up.

18 Sí, cuando se hicieron un becerro moldeado y dijeron: “Este es vuestro Dios, que os hizo subir de Egipto”, y cometieron horribles blasfemias,

Even when they had made for themselves an ox of metal, and said, This is your God who took you up out of Egypt, and had done so much to make you angry;

19 pero tú, en tus múltiples misericordias, no los abandonaste en el desierto. La columna de nube no se apartó de ellos durante el día para guiarlos por el camino, ni la columna de fuego durante la noche para mostrarles la luz y el camino que debían seguir.

Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the waste land: the pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go.

20 También diste tu buen Espíritu para instruirlos, y no retuviste tu maná de su boca, y les diste agua para su sed.

And you gave your good spirit to be their teacher, and did not keep back your manna from their mouths, and gave them water when they had need of it.

21 “Sí, cuarenta años los sostuviste en el desierto. Nada les faltó. Sus vestidos no envejecieron y sus pies no se hincharon.

Truly, for forty years you were their support in the waste land, and they were in need of nothing; their clothing did not get old or their feet become tired.

22 Además, les diste reinos y pueblos, que asignaste según sus porciones. Así poseyeron la tierra de Sehón, la tierra del rey de Hesbón y la tierra de Og, rey de Basán.

And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, making distribution to them in every part of the land: so they took for their heritage the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan.

23 También multiplicaste sus hijos como las estrellas del cielo, y los introdujiste en la tierra sobre la que habías dicho a sus padres que entrarían a poseerla.

And you made their children as great in number as the stars of heaven, and took them into the land, of which you had said to their fathers that they were to go in and take it for themselves.

24 “Así que los hijos entraron y poseyeron la tierra; y tú sometiste ante ellos a los habitantes de la tierra, los cananeos, y los entregaste en sus manos, con sus reyes y los pueblos de la tierra, para que hicieran con ellos lo que quisieran.

So the children went in and took the land, and you overcame before them the people of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them up into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them whatever it was their pleasure to do.

25 Tomaron ciudades fortificadas y una tierra rica, y poseyeron casas llenas de todos los bienes, cisternas excavadas, viñas, olivares y árboles frutales en abundancia. Así comieron, se saciaron, engordaron y se deleitaron en tu gran bondad.

And they took walled towns and a fat land, and became the owners of houses full of all good things, water-holes cut in the rock, vine-gardens and olive-gardens and a wealth of fruit-trees: so they had food enough and became fat, and had joy in the good you gave them.

26 “Sin embargo, fueron desobedientes y se rebelaron contra ti, echaron tu ley a sus espaldas, mataron a tus profetas que testificaban contra ellos para que se volvieran a ti, y cometieron horribles blasfemias.

But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority, turning their backs on your law, and putting to death your prophets, who gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you, and they did much to make you angry.

27 Por eso los entregaste en manos de sus adversarios, que los angustiaron. En el tiempo de su angustia, cuando clamaron a ti, tú oíste desde el cielo; y según tus múltiples misericordias les diste salvadores que los salvaron de las manos de sus adversarios.

And so you gave them up into the hands of their haters who were cruel to them: and in the time of their trouble, when they made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; and in your great mercy gave them saviours, who made them free from the hands of their haters.

28 Pero después de haber descansado, volvieron a hacer el mal ante ti; por eso los dejaste en manos de sus enemigos, para que se enseñorearan de ellos; sin embargo, cuando volvieron y clamaron a ti, tú oíste desde el cielo; y muchas veces los libraste según tus misericordias,

But when they had rest, they did evil again before you: so you gave them into the hands of their haters, who had rule over them: but when they came back and made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; again and again, in your mercy, you gave them salvation;

29 y diste testimonio contra ellos, para que volvieran a tu ley. Sin embargo, fueron arrogantes y no escucharon tus mandamientos, sino que pecaron contra tus ordenanzas (que si el hombre hace, vivirá en ellas), volvieron la espalda, endurecieron su cerviz y no quisieron escuchar.

And gave witness against them so that you might make them come back again to your law: but their hearts were lifted up, and they gave no attention to your orders and went against your decisions (which, if a man keeps them, will be life to him), and turning their backs on you, made their necks stiff and did not give ear.

30 Sin embargo, durante muchos años los aguantaste y les diste testimonio con tu Espíritu por medio de tus profetas. Sin embargo, no quisieron escuchar. Por eso los entregaste en manos de los pueblos de las tierras.

Year after year you put up with them, and gave witness against them by your spirit through your prophets: still they did not give ear: and so you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands.

31 “Sin embargo, en tus múltiples misericordias, no les pusiste fin ni los abandonaste, porque eres un Dios clemente y misericordioso.

Even then, in your great mercy, you did not put an end to them completely, or give them up; for you are a God of grace and mercy.

32 Ahora, pues, Dios nuestro, el grande, el poderoso y el imponente, que guarda el pacto y la bondad amorosa, no dejes que te parezcan pequeños todos los trabajos que nos han sobrevenido, a nuestros reyes, a nuestros príncipes, a nuestros sacerdotes, a nuestros profetas, a nuestros padres y a todo tu pueblo, desde el tiempo de los reyes de Asiria hasta hoy.

And now, our God, the great, the strong, the God who is to be feared, who keeps faith and mercy, let not all this trouble seem small to you, which has come on us, and on our kings and our rulers and on our priests and our prophets and our fathers and on all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria till this day.

33 Sin embargo, tú eres justo en todo lo que ha recaído sobre nosotros; porque tú has actuado con verdad, pero nosotros hemos hecho maldad.

But still, you have been in the right in everything which has come on us; you have been true to us, but we have done evil:

34 También nuestros reyes, nuestros príncipes, nuestros sacerdotes y nuestros padres no han guardado tu ley, ni han escuchado tus mandamientos y tus testimonios con los que testificaste contra ellos.

And our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or given attention to your orders and your witness, with which you gave witness against them.

35 Porque no te han servido en su reino y en tu gran bondad que les diste, y en la tierra grande y rica que les diste. No se convirtieron de sus obras malvadas.

For they have not been your servants in their kingdom, and in all the good things you gave them, and in the great and fat land you gave them, and they have not been turned away from their evil-doing.

36 “He aquí que hoy somos siervos, y en cuanto a la tierra que diste a nuestros padres para comer su fruto y su bien, he aquí que somos siervos en ella.

Now, today, we are servants, and as for the land which you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it:

37 La tierra da muchos frutos a los reyes que has puesto sobre nosotros a causa de nuestros pecados. También tienen poder sobre nuestros cuerpos y sobre nuestro ganado, a su antojo, y estamos en gran aflicción.

And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins: and they have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble.

38 Sin embargo, por todo esto, hacemos un pacto seguro y lo escribimos; y nuestros príncipes, nuestros levitas y nuestros sacerdotes lo sellan.”

And because of all this we are making an agreement in good faith, and putting it in writing; and our rulers, our Levites, and our priests are putting their names to it.