Nehemiah 9

1 And in the twenty-fourth day of this month, the sons of Israel were gathered with fasting and with sackcloth, and with earth upon them.

2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins and the sins of their fathers.

3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the Book of the Law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day. And another fourth part they confessed and worshiped Jehovah their God.

4 And stood upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice to Jehovah their God.

5 And the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless Jehovah your God forever and ever. And blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

6 You, even You, are Jehovah alone. You have made the heavens, heaven of the heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things on it, the seas, and all in them, and You preserve them all. And the host of the heavens worships You.

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

8 and found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his seed. And You have performed Your words, for You are righteous.

9 And You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea,

10 and gave out signs and wonders upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants and upon all the people of his land. For You knew that they were acting proudly against them. So You got Yourself a name, as today.

11 And You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land. And their pursuers You threw into the deep, like a stone into the mighty waters.

12 And You led them in the day by a cloudy pillar, and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way in which they should go.

13 And You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from Heaven, and gave them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments.

14 And You made known to them Your holy sabbath, and commanded them commandments, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses Your servant.

15 And You gave them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst. And You promised them that they should go in to possess the land which You had sworn to give them.

16 But they and our fathers acted proudly and hardened their necks, and did not listen to Your commandments.

17 And they refused to obey, neither were they mindful of Your wonders which You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and did not forsake them.

18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt, and had worked great blasphemies,

19 yet You in Your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light and the way in which they should go.

20 You also gave Your good Spirit to teach them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.

21 And forty years You sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing; their clothes did not become old, and their feet did not swell.

22 And You gave them kingdoms and nations, and divided them into corners. And they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 And You multiplied their sons like the stars of the heavens, and brought them into the land concerning which You had promised to their fathers that they should go in to possess it.

24 And the sons went in and possessed the land, and You humbled the people of the land before them, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them as they would.

25 And they took strong cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards and olive-yards, and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

26 But they were disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your Law behind their backs. And they killed Your prophets who testified against them to turn them to You, and they worked great blasphemies.

27 And You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who troubled them. And in the time of their trouble, they cried to You, and You heard from Heaven. And according to Your manifold mercies, You gave them deliverers, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before You, and You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the rule over them. But they returned and cried to You, and You heard from Heaven. And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,

29 and testified against them that You might bring them again to Your Law. But they acted proudly and did not listen to Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments (which if a man do, he shall live in them), and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

30 And many years You had patience with them, and testified against them by Your Spirit, by Your prophets, but they would not give ear. And You gave them into the hand of the people of the lands.

31 But for Your great mercies, You did not completely destroy them nor forsake them. For You are a gracious and merciful God.

32 And now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the fearful God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble that has come upon us, on our kings, on our rulers, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all Your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day, seem little before You.

33 But You are just in all that is brought upon us, for You have done right, but we have done wickedly.

34 And our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers, have not kept Your Law, nor listened to Your commandments and Your words with which You testified against them.

35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, and in Your great goodness which You gave them, and in the large and rich land which You gave before them, and they did not turn from their wicked works.

36 Behold, we are servants today. And the land that You gave to our fathers to eat its fruit, and its good, behold, we are servants in it.

37 And it yields much increase to the kings whom You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

38 And because of all this we are cutting a sure covenant, and write it, and our princes, Levites, and priests are sealing it.