22 Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.

25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.

27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.

33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:

34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.

35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.

36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:

37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

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22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon[a](A) king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan.(B) 23 You made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky,(C) and you brought them into the land that you told their parents to enter and possess. 24 Their children went in and took possession of the land.(D) You subdued(E) before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you gave the Canaanites into their hands, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. 25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land;(F) they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things,(G) wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished;(H) they reveled in your great goodness.(I)

26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law.(J) They killed(K) your prophets,(L) who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies.(M) 27 So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies,(N) who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion(O) you gave them deliverers,(P) who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.

28 “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight.(Q) Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion(R) you delivered them(S) time after time.

29 “You warned(T) them in order to turn them back to your law, but they became arrogant(U) and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, of which you said, ‘The person who obeys them will live by them.’(V) Stubbornly they turned their backs(W) on you, became stiff-necked(X) and refused to listen.(Y) 30 For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets.(Z) Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.(AA) 31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end(AB) to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful(AC) God.

32 “Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty(AD) and awesome,(AE) who keeps his covenant of love,(AF) do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship(AG) that has come on us, on our kings and leaders, on our priests and prophets, on our ancestors and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. 33 In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous;(AH) you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly.(AI) 34 Our kings,(AJ) our leaders, our priests and our ancestors(AK) did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep. 35 Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness(AL) to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you(AM) or turn from their evil ways.

36 “But see, we are slaves(AN) today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. 37 Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.(AO)

The Agreement of the People

38 “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement,(AP) putting it in writing,(AQ) and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 9:22 One Hebrew manuscript and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts Sihon, that is, the country of the
  2. Nehemiah 9:38 In Hebrew texts this verse (9:38) is numbered 10:1.