Nehemiah 9:1-25 ▼

1 And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel were assembled with fasting, and in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.

2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all the sons of a foreigner, and they stood and confessed concerning their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of YHWH their God for a fourth of the day, and a fourth they confessed and bowed low to YHWH their God.

4 And there stood on the ascent, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they cried out in a loud voice to YHWH their God.

5 And the Levites said—Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah: “Rise and bless YHWH your? God from forever even to forever! And blessed be the name of your glory, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

6 You are He, YHWH, You alone; You have made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, and all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You give life to all things, and the host of the heavens gives worship to You.

7 You are He, YHWH, the God who chose Abram and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldeans, and you set his name to be Abraham.

8 And You found his heart faithful before You, and You cut with him a covenant to give him 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 made stand Your words, for You are righteous.

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

10 And You gave forth signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and against all his servants, and against all the people of his land. For You knew that they seethed against them, and You made for Yourself a name as it is this day.

11 And You divided the sea before them, and they passed over in the midst of the sea on the dry land. And those pursuing them You threw into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters.

12 And by a pillar of cloud You led them by day, and by a pillar of fire by night, to give light for them, on the way that they should walk in it.

13 And upon Mount Sinai You came down and spoke with them from the heavens, and You gave to them straight ordinances and true instructions, good statutes and commandments.

14 And the Sabbath of Your holiness You made known to them, and the commands and statutes and instructions You commanded to them by the hand of Moses Your servant.

15 And bread from the heavens You gave to them for their hunger, and water from the rock you brought forth to them for their thirst, and You said to them to go in to possess the land that You lifted Your hand to give to them.

16 And they and our fathers seethed and hardened their necks, and they did not listen to Your commandments.

17 And they refused to hear, and they did not remember Your wonders that You did among them; and they hardened their necks and appointed a leader for returning to their slavery in Egypt. And You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, long of nostrils and abounding in loving devotion—and You did not forsake them.

18 For they also made for themselves a calf molten and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ and they did great blasphemies,

19 and You, great in Your mercies, did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud He did not turn aside from them by day, to lead them on the path; and the pillar of the fire by night, to shine on them, and on the way that they should walk in it.

20 And Your good Spirit You gave to give them understanding, and Your manna You did not withhold from their lips, and water you gave to them for their thirst.

21 And forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they did not lack. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.

22 And You gave to them kingdoms and nations, and You portioned them to the corner. And they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 And their children You multiplied as the stars of the heavens, and You brought them into the land of which You had said to their fathers to enter to possess it.

24 And the sons came and possessed the land, and You humbled before their faces the dwellers of the land of the Canaanites, and You gave them into their hands and their kings, and the people of the land, to do with them according to their pleasure.

25 And they took fortified cities and a rich land, and they possessed houses full of all good, wells dug, vineyards, and olive groves and trees of fruit in abundance. And they ate and were filled and grew fat and lived luxuriously in Your great goodness.