Nehemiah 9

Wycliffe Bible

9 Forsooth in the four and twentieth day of this month, the sons of Israel came together in fasting, and in sackcloths, and earth was on them. (Now on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites came together in sackcloths, with earth on their heads, for a fast, to show remorse for their sins.)

² And the seed of the sons of Israel was separated from each alien man. And they stood before the Lord, and acknowledged their sins, and the wickednesses of their fathers. (And the descendants of the Israelites separated themselves from every foreigner. And they stood before the Lord, and confessed their sins, and the wickednesses of their forefathers.)

³ And they rose together to stand; and they read in the book of the law of the Lord their God four times in the day, and four times in the night; they acknowledged, and praised the Lord their God. (And they stood up in their places; and The Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read to them for one fourth, or one quarter, of the day; and then for another fourth, or quarter, they confessed their sins, and praised the Lord their God.)

⁴ Forsooth they rised [up] on the degree, of (the) deacons, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Bunni, Shebaniah, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani. And the deacons cried with great voice to their Lord God. (And then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Bunni, Shebaniah, Sherebiah, another Bani, and Chenani stood on the platform built for the Levites. And they cried aloud to the Lord their God.)

⁵ And (the deacons,) Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Rise ye (up), and bless ye the Lord your God, from without beginning and till into without end; and Lord, bless they the high name of thy glory in all blessing and praising. (And the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Rise ye up, and bless ye the Lord your God, forever and ever; yea, Lord, bless they thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.)

⁶ Thou thyself, Lord, art alone/Thou thyself, Lord, art alone God; thou madest heaven, and the heaven of heavens, and all the host of those heavens; thou madest the earth and all things that be therein; thou madest the seas and all things that be in them; and thou quickenest all these things; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. (Thou thyself, art Lord alone/Thou thyself, Lord, art God alone; thou madest the heavens, yea, the highest heavens, and all the stars of the sky; thou madest the earth and all the things that be on it; thou madest the seas and all the things that be in them; and thou quickenest all these things; and the host of heaven, that is, the heavenly powers, worshippeth thee.)

⁷ Thou thyself art the Lord God, that choosedest Abram, and leddest him out of the fire of Chaldees, and thou settedest, or calledest, his name Abraham; (Thou thyself art the Lord God, who chosest Abram, and leddest him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and thou calledest his name Abraham;)

⁸ and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and thou hast smitten with him a bond of peace, that thou wouldest give to him the land of Canaanites, of Hittites, of Hivites, of Amorites, and of Perizzites, and of Jebusites, and of Girgashites, that thou wouldest give it to his seed; and thou hast fulfilled thy words, for thou art just. (and foundest that his heart was faithful before thee, and so thou madest a covenant with him, that thou wouldest give him the land of the Canaanites, and Hittites, Hivites, and Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites, yea, that thou wouldest give it all to his descendants; and thou hast fulfilled thy words, for thou art just.)

⁹ And thou hast seen the torment of our fathers in Egypt, and thou heardest the cry of them upon the Red Sea. (And thou saw the torment of our forefathers in Egypt, and thou heardest their cries at the Red Sea, or the Sea of Reeds.)

¹⁰ And thou hast given signs and great wonders in Pharaoh, and in all his servants, and in all the people of that land; for thou knowest, that they did proudly against our fathers; and thou madest to thee a name, as also (it is) in this day. (And thou gavest signs and great wonders against Pharaoh, and against all his servants, and against all the people of that land; for thou knewest, that they did proudly against our forefathers; and thou madest a name for thyself, as it is unto this day.)

¹¹ And thou partedest the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea in the dry place; and thou castedest down the pursuers of them into the depth, as a stone in strong waters. (And thou partedest the Red Sea before them, and they passed through the middle of it on dry land; and thou threwest down their pursuers into the depths, like a stone thrown into mighty waters.)

¹² And in a pillar of cloud thou were the leader of them by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, that the way, by which they entered, should appear to them. (And thou wast their leader by a pillar of cloud in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night, so that the way by which they should go, was clear to them.)

¹³ Also thou camest down at the hill of Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and thou gavest to them rightful dooms, and the law of truth, ceremonies, and good commandments. (And thou camest down upon Mount Sinai, and spokest with them from heaven, and thou gavest them right judgements, and true laws, and good statutes, and commandments.)

¹⁴ And thou showedest to them an hallowed sabbath; and thou commandedest to them commandments, and ceremonies, and law, in the hand of Moses, thy servant. (And thou toldest them of thy holy Sabbath; and thou commandedest to them commandments, and statutes, and laws, through thy servant Moses.)

¹⁵ And thou gavest to them bread from heaven in their hunger; and thou leddest out of the stone water to them (who were) thirsting; and thou saidest to them, that they should enter, and have in possession the land, upon the which land thou raisedest up thine hand, that thou shouldest give it to them. (And thou gavest them bread, or manna, from heaven for their hunger; and thou leddest out water from the stone for those who were thirsting; and thou saidest to them, that they should go in, and take possession of the land, on which land thou raisedest up thy hand, and swore, that thou would give it to them.)

¹⁶ But they and our fathers did proudly, and made hard their nolls, and heard not thy commandments. (But they, our forefathers, did proudly, and were stiff-necked, or stubborn, and would not obey thy commandments.)

¹⁷ And they would not hear; and they had not mind of thy marvels, which thou haddest done to them; and they made hard their nolls; and they gave the head, that they were all-turned to their servage as by strife; but thou art God (who is) helpful, meek, and merciful, abiding long, either patient, and of much merciful doing, and forsookest not them; (Yea, they would not obey; and they did not remember thy marvels, which thou didest for them; and they stiffened their necks, and were stubborn; and they rebelled, and ordained a leader to take them back to their servitude, or their slavery; but thou art a helpful God, meek, and merciful, long abiding, or patient, and of great mercy, and thou didest not abandon them;)

¹⁸ and when they had made to them a molten calf, as by strife, and had said, This is thy God, Israel, that led thee out of Egypt, and they did great blasphemies to thy name. (even when they made for themselves a metal idol, yea, a calf, and said, Israel, this is thy god, that led thee out of Egypt, and they did great blasphemies to thy name.)

¹⁹ But thou, Lord, in thy many mercies leftest, or forsookest, not them in (the) desert; for a pillar of cloud went not away from them by the day, that it should lead them into the way whither they were to go; and the pillar of fire went not away from them by night, that it should show to them the way, by which they should enter. (Yet thou, Lord, in thy many mercies, did not leave, or forsake, them in the desert; for the pillar of cloud went not away from them in the day, so that it could lead them in the way that they should to go; and the pillar of fire went not away from them in the night, so that it could also show them the way that they should go.)

²⁰ And thou gavest to them thy good Spirit, that taught them; and thou forbadest not thine angel’s meat, (or thy manna,) from their mouth(s), and thou gavest to them water in their thirst (and thou gavest them water for their thirst).

²¹ Forty years thou feddest them in (the) desert, and nothing failed to them (and nothing failed for them); their clothes waxed not eld, and their feet were not hurt, (or swollen).

²² And thou gavest to them realms, and peoples; and thou partedest lots, either heritages, to them, and they had in possession the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan. (And thou gavest kingdoms, and peoples to them; and thou partedest to them lots, or inheritances, and they took possession of the land of Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan.)

²³ And thou multipliedest the sons of them, as the stars of heaven/as the stars of the firmament; and thou broughtest them to the land, of which thou saidest to their fathers, that they should enter, and hold it in possession. (And thou multipliedest their sons, so that they be in number like the stars of the heavens/like the stars in the sky; and thou broughtest them to the land, of which thou saidest to their fathers, that they should enter, and take possession of it.)

²⁴ And the sons of Israel came, and had the land in possession; and before them thou madest low the dwellers of the land, (the) Canaanites; and thou gavest them into the hands of the sons of Israel, and the kings of them, and the peoples of the land, that they did to them, as it pleased them. (And the Israelites came, and took possession of the land; and thou madest the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, low before them; thou gavest them into the hands of the Israelites, yea, thou gavest them their kings, and the peoples of the land, and then Israel did to them, whatever it pleased them to do.)

²⁵ And they took cities made strong, and (a) fat earth; and they had in possession houses full of all goods, cisterns made of other men, vineries, and places of olives, and many apple trees. And they ate, and were fulfilled, and were made fat; and had plenty of riches in thy great goodness. (And they took over fortified cities, and a fertile land; and they took possession of houses full of all kinds of goods, and cisterns made by other men, and vineyards, and olives groves, and many apple trees. And they ate, and were fulfilled, and made fat, and had plenty of riches by thy great goodness.)

²⁶ And yet they stirred thee to wrathfulness, and went away from thee, and casted away thy law behind their backs; and they killed thy prophets, that witnessed to them, that they should turn again to thee; and they did great blasphemies. (And yet they stirred thee to great anger, and went away from thee, and threw away thy Law behind their backs; and they killed thy prophets, who witnessed to them, that they should return to thee; and they did great blasphemies.)

²⁷ And thou gavest them into the hand(s) of their enemies; and they tormented them; and in the time of their tribulation they cried to thee; and thou heardest them from heaven, and by thy many merciful doings thou gavest them saviours, that saved them from the hand of their enemies (who saved them from the hands, or the power, of their enemies).

²⁸ And when they had rested, they turned again to do evil in thy sight; and thou forsookest them in the hand of their enemies, and (their) enemies had them in possession; then they were turned again to thee, and cried to thee; and in thy mercy doing thou heardest them from heaven, and deliveredest them by many times. (And after they had rested, or had stopped for a while, again they turned to do evil before thee; and thou abandonedest them into the hands of their enemies, and their enemies subjugated them; then they turned again to thee, and cried to thee; and thou heardest them from heaven, and many times in thy mercy thou deliveredest them.)

²⁹ And thou witnessedest to them, that they should turn again to thy law; but they did proudly, and heard not thy behests, and sinned in thy dooms, which a man that shall do (them), shall live in those; but they gave their shoulder and went away, and they made hard their nolls, and would not obey to thy dooms. (And thou witnessedest to them, that they should return to thy Law; but they did proudly, and would not listen to thy commandments, and sinned against thy judgements, which if a man shall do them, he shall live; but instead, they gave their shoulder to you and went away, and they were stiff-necked, or stubborn, and would not obey thy judgements.)

³⁰ And thou drewest along many years upon them, and thou witnessedest to them in thy Spirit, by the hand, or telling, of thy prophets, that they were law-breakers; and they heard them not; and therefore thou gavest them into the hand of the peoples of (the) lands. (And thou wast patient with them for many years, and thou witnessedest to them by thy Spirit, through the words of thy prophets, that they were Law-breakers; but they did not listen to them; and so thou gavest them into the hands of the peoples of the lands.)

³¹ But in thy mercies full many, thou madest not them to be into wasting, neither thou forsookest them; for thou art God of merciful doings, and meek. (But in thy very many mercies, thou didest not destroy them, nor abandonedest them; for thou art a merciful and gracious God.)

³² Now therefore, our Lord God, great God, strong, and fearedful, keeping covenant and mercy, turn thou not away thy face from us in all the travail that hath found us, our kings, and our princes, and our fathers, and our priests, and our prophets, and all thy people, from the days of king Assur till to this day. (And so now, Lord our God, the great God, strong, and fearful, keeping covenant and mercy, turn thou not away thy face from us in all the travail that hath found us, yea, our kings, and our leaders, our fathers, and our priests, our prophets, and all thy people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.)

³³ And Lord, thou art just in all (the) things, that came [up]on us, for thou didest truth(fully) to us; but we have done wickedly.

³⁴ And our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our fathers, have not done thy law; and they perceived not thy behests and thy witnessings, which thou hast witnessed in thy behests. (And our kings, and our leaders, and our priests, and our fathers, have not obeyed thy Law; and they did not heed thy commandments and thy testimonies, which thou witnessed to them.)

³⁵ And they, in their good realms, and in thy much goodness which thou gavest to them, and in the full large land and fat, which thou haddest given in the sight of them, served not thee, neither turned again from their worst studies. (And they, in their kingdoms/with their kings, and in the great goodness, or prosperity, which thou gavest them, and in the very broad and fertile land, which thou gavest them, served thee not, nor turned away from their evil doings.)

³⁶ Lo! we ourselves be thralls to day; and the land which thou gavest to our fathers, that they should eat the bread thereof, and the goods that be thereof, is thrall; and we ourselves be thralls, either bondmen, in that land. (Lo! we ourselves be slaves today, in the land which thou gavest to our forefathers, so that they could eat its bread, and enjoy its good things; yea, we ourselves be slaves, or bondsmen, here in this land.)

³⁷ And the fruits thereof be multiplied to (the) kings, which thou hast set upon us for our sins; and they be lords of our bodies, and of our beasts, by their will, and we be in great tribulation. (And its fruits be multiplied, but only unto the kings whom thou hast put upon us for our sins; and they be lords of us, and of our beasts, at their pleasure, and we be in great tribulation.)

³⁸ Therefore on all these things we ourselves smite and write (a) bond of peace, and our princes, our deacons, and our priests aseal (it). (And so for all these things, we hereby make a covenant in writing, and our leaders, and our Levites, and our priests, put their seals to it.)