Nehemiah 9:23-38 ▼

23 You made their sons numerous as the stars of heaven, And You brought them into the land Which You had said for their fathers to enter and possess.

24 So their sons entered and possessed the land. And You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, And You gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, To do with them according to their desire.

25 They captured fortified cities and a rich land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, Trees for food in abundance. So they ate, were filled, and grew fat, And reveled in Your great goodness.

26 “But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, And cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who had testified to them So that they might return to You, And they committed great blasphemies.

27 Therefore You gave them into the hand of the ones who distressed them, and they afflicted them with distress, But at the time of their distress they cried to You, And You listened from heaven, and according to Your abundant compassion You gave them saviors and they saved them from the hand of the ones that distressed them.

28 But as soon as they had rest, they returned to do evil before You; Therefore You forsook them in the hand of their enemies, so they had dominion over them. Then they returned and cried to You. And You listened from heaven, And many times You delivered them according to Your compassion,

29 And testified to them in order to turn them back to Your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your judgments, By which if a man does them, he shall live. And they gave a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen.

30 However, You bore with them for many years, And testified to them by Your Spirit by the hand of Your prophets, Yet they would not give ear. So You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

31 Nevertheless, in Your abundant compassion You did not make a complete destruction of them or forsake them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God.

32 “So now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness, Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You, Which has found us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.

33 However, You are righteous in all that has come upon us; For You have dealt in truth, but we have acted wickedly.

34 Now our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers did not do Your law Or pay attention to Your commandments and Your testimonies with which You testified against them.

35 But they, in their own kingdom, With Your abundant goodness which You gave them, With the broad and rich land which You set before them, Did not serve You or turn from their evil deeds.

36 Behold, we are slaves today, And as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its goodness, Behold, we are slaves in it.

37 Its abundant produce is for the kings Whom You have put over us because of our sins; They also rule over our bodies And over our cattle according to their desire, So we are in great distress.

38 “Now because of all this We are cutting an agreement in writing; And on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.”