Nehemiah 9:1-8

Holman Christian Standard Bible

National Confession of Sin

9 On the twenty-fourth day of this month^(A) the Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads.^(B) ²Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners,^(C) and they stood^(D) and confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers.^(E) ³While they stood in their places,^(F) they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day^(G) in confession^(H) and worship of the Lord their God. ⁴Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levites^(I) and cried out loudly to the Lord their God. ⁵Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah^(J)—said, “Stand up. Praise Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting.”^(K)

Praise Your glorious name,^(L)
and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
⁶You^[a] alone are Yahweh.^(M)
You created the heavens,
the highest heavens with all their host,
the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to all of them,^(N)
and the heavenly host worships You.^(O)
⁷You are Yahweh,
the God who chose Abram
and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,^(P)
and changed his name to Abraham.^(Q)
⁸You found his heart faithful in Your sight,^(R)
and made a covenant with him
to give the land of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,
Jebusites, and Girgashites—
to give it to his descendants.^(S)
You have kept Your promise,
for You are righteous.