Nehemiah 9
New English Translation
The People Acknowledge Their Sin before God
9 On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust. 2 Those truly of Israelite descent[a] separated from all the foreigners,[b] standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.[c] 3 For one-fourth of the day they stood in their place and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God, and for another fourth they were confessing their sins[d] and worshiping the Lord their God. 4 Then the Levites—Jeshua, Binnui,[e] Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the steps and called out loudly[f] to the Lord their God. 5 The Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God!”
“May you be blessed, O Lord our God, from age to age.[g] May your glorious name[h] be blessed; may it be lifted up above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens,[i] along with all their multitude of stars,[j] the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You impart life to them all, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
7 “You are the Lord God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham. 8 When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a[k] covenant with him to give his descendants[l] the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise,[m] for you are righteous.
9 “You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea.[n] 10 You performed awesome signs[o] against Pharaoh, against his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians[p] had acted presumptuously[q] against them. You made for yourself a name that is celebrated to this day. 11 You split the sea before them, and they crossed through[r] the sea on dry ground. But you threw their pursuers[s] into the depths, like a stone into surging[t] waters. 12 You guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illumine for them the path they were to travel.
13 “You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You provided them with just judgments, true laws, and good statutes and commandments. 14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and laws to them through[u] Moses your servant. 15 You provided bread from heaven for them in their time of hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their time of thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land that you had sworn[v] to give them.
16 “But they—our ancestors[w]—behaved presumptuously; they rebelled[x] and did not obey your commandments. 17 They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt.[y] But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love.[z] You did not abandon them, 18 even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious[aa] blasphemies.
19 “Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day,[ab] nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel. 20 You imparted your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths; you provided water for their thirst. 21 For forty years you sustained them. Even in the wilderness they never lacked anything. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
22 “You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you allocated them to every corner of the land.[ac] They inherited the land of King Sihon of Heshbon[ad] and the land of King Og of Bashan. 23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky. You brought them to the land you had told their ancestors to enter in order to possess. 24 Their descendants[ae] entered and possessed the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites who were the inhabitants of the land. You delivered them into their hand, together with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with as they pleased. 25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things—wells previously dug, vineyards, olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance. They ate until they were full[af] and grew fat. They enjoyed to the full your great goodness.
26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law.[ag] They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies. 27 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. In your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from[ah] their adversaries.
28 “Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to[ai] their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again. 29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances—those by which an individual, if he obeys them,[aj] will live. They boldly turned from you;[ak] they rebelled[al] and did not obey. 30 You prolonged your kindness[am] with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention,[an] so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.[ao] 31 However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.
32 “So now, our God—the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity[ap]—do not regard as inconsequential[aq] all the hardship that has befallen us—our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people—from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day. 33 You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully.[ar] It is we who have been in the wrong! 34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them. 35 Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible[as] goodness that you had lavished[at] on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set[au] before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices.
36 “So today we are slaves! In the very land you gave to our ancestors to eat its fruit and to enjoy[av] its good things—we are slaves. 37 Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit,[aw] and we are in great distress!
The People Pledge to be Faithful
38 (10:1)[ax] “Because of all this we are entering into[ay] a binding covenant in written form;[az] our leaders, our Levites, and our priests have affixed their names[ba] on the sealed document.”
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 9:2 tn Heb “the seed of Israel.”
- Nehemiah 9:2 tn Heb “sons of a foreigner.”
- Nehemiah 9:2 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 16, 23, 32, 34, 36).
- Nehemiah 9:3 tn Heb “confessing.” The words “their sins” are not present in the Hebrew text of v. 3, but are clearly implied here because they are explicitly stated in v. 2.
- Nehemiah 9:4 tc Heb “Bani.” The translation reads “Binnui” (so also NAB) rather than the MT reading “Bani.” Otherwise there are two individuals with the same name in this verse. The name “Binnui” appears, for example, in Neh 10:10.
- Nehemiah 9:4 tn Heb “in a great voice.”
- Nehemiah 9:5 tc The MT reads here only “from age to age,” without the preceding words “May you be blessed, O Lord our God” which are included in the present translation. But apparently something has dropped out of the text. This phrase occurs elsewhere in the OT as a description of the Lord (see Pss 41:13; 106:48), and it seems best to understand it here in that light. The LXX adds “And Ezra said” at the beginning of v. 6 as a transition: “And Ezra said, ‘You alone are the Lord.” Without this addition (which is not included by most modern English translations) the speakers of vv. 9:5b-10:1 continue to be the Levites of v. 5a.
- Nehemiah 9:5 tn Heb “the name of your glory.”
- Nehemiah 9:6 tn Heb “the heavens of the heavens.”
- Nehemiah 9:6 tn Heb “all their host.”
- Nehemiah 9:8 tn Heb “the” (so NAB).
- Nehemiah 9:8 tn Heb “seed.”
- Nehemiah 9:8 tn Heb “your words.”
- Nehemiah 9:9 tn Heb “the Sea of Reeds.” Traditionally this is identified as the Red Sea, and the modern designation has been used in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 9:10 tn Heb “signs and wonders.” This phrase is a hendiadys. The second noun functions adjectivally, while the first noun retains its full nominal sense: “awesome signs” or “miraculous signs.”
- Nehemiah 9:10 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 9:10 tn Or “arrogantly” (so NASB); NRSV “insolently.”
- Nehemiah 9:11 tn Heb “in the midst of.”
- Nehemiah 9:11 tn Heb “those who pursued them.”
- Nehemiah 9:11 tn Heb “mighty.”
- Nehemiah 9:14 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
- Nehemiah 9:15 tn Heb “had lifted your hand.”
- Nehemiah 9:16 tn Heb “and our fathers.” The ו (vav) is explicative.
- Nehemiah 9:16 tn Heb “they stiffened their neck” (so also in the following verse).
- Nehemiah 9:17 tc The present translation follows a few medieval Hebrew mss and the LXX in reading בְּמִצְרָיִם (bemitsrayim, “in Egypt”; so also NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT) rather than the MT reading בְּמִרְיָם (bemiryam, “in their rebellion”).
- Nehemiah 9:17 tc The translation follows the Qere reading חֶסֶד (khesed, “loyal love”) rather than the Kethib reading וְחֶסֶד (vekhesed, “and loyal love”) of the MT.
- Nehemiah 9:18 tn Heb “great.”
- Nehemiah 9:19 tn Heb “did not turn from them by day to guide them in the path.”
- Nehemiah 9:22 tn The words “of the land” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 9:22 tc Most Hebrew mss read “the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon.” The present translation (along with NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT) follows the reading of one Hebrew ms, the LXX, and the Vulgate.
- Nehemiah 9:24 tn Heb “the sons.”
- Nehemiah 9:25 tn Heb “they ate and were sated.” This expression is a hendiadys. The first verb retains its full verbal sense, while the second functions adverbially: “they ate and were filled” = “they ate until they were full.”
- Nehemiah 9:26 tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”
- Nehemiah 9:27 tn Heb “from the hand of” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “from the power of.”
- Nehemiah 9:28 tn Heb “in the hand of” (so KJV, ASV); NAB “to the power of.”
- Nehemiah 9:29 tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.
- Nehemiah 9:29 tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”
- Nehemiah 9:29 tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”
- Nehemiah 9:30 tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 9:30 tn Heb “did not give ear to.”
- Nehemiah 9:30 tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
- Nehemiah 9:32 tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.
- Nehemiah 9:32 tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”
- Nehemiah 9:33 tn Heb “you have done truth.”
- Nehemiah 9:35 tn Heb “great.”
- Nehemiah 9:35 tn Heb “given them.”
- Nehemiah 9:35 tn Heb “given.”
- Nehemiah 9:36 tn The expression “to enjoy” is not included in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Nehemiah 9:37 tn Heb “according to their desire.”
- Nehemiah 9:38 sn Beginning with 9:38, the verse numbers through 10:39 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:38 ET = 10:1 HT, 10:1 ET = 10:2 HT, 10:2 ET = 10:3 HT, etc., through 10:39 ET = 10:40 HT. Beginning with 11:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
- Nehemiah 9:38 tn Heb “we are cutting.”
- Nehemiah 9:38 tn Heb “and writing.”
- Nehemiah 9:38 tn Heb “our leaders, our Levites, and our priests on the sealed document.” The Hebrew text is elliptical here; the words “have affixed their names” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons. Cf. v. 2.
Nehemiah 9
1599 Geneva Bible
9 The people repent, and forsake their strange wives. 5 The Levites exhort them to praise God, 6 Declaring his wonders, 26 And their ingratitude, 30 And God’s great mercies toward them.
1 In the four and twentieth day of this [a]month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them.
2 (And they that were of the seed of Israel were separated from all the [b]strangers) and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 And they stood up in their place and read in the book of the Law of the Lord their God four times on the day, and they [c]confessed and worshipped the Lord their God four times.
4 Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God.
5 And the Levites said, even Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah, Stand up and praise the Lord your God forever and ever, and let them praise thy glorious Name, O God, which excelleth above all thanksgiving and praise.
6 Thou art Lord alone: thou hast made heaven, and the heaven of all heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that are in them and thou preservest them all and the host of the heaven worshippeth thee.
7 Thou art, O Lord, the God, that hast chosen Abram, and broughtest him out of (A)Ur in Chaldeans, and (B)madest his name Abraham,
8 And foundest his heart faithful before thee, (C)and madest a Covenant with him, to give unto his seed the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, and Perizzites, and Jebusites, and Girgashites, and hast performed thy words, because thou art just.
9 (D)Thou hast also considered the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the red Sea,
10 And showed tokens and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them: therefore thou madest thee a Name, as appeareth this day.
11 (E)For thou didst break up the Sea before them, and they went through the midst of the sea on dry land: and those that pursued them, hast thou cast into the bottoms as a stone, in the mighty waters:
12 And (F)leddest them in the day with a pillar of a cloud, and in the night with a pillar of fire to give them light in the way that they went.
13 (G)Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest unto them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, ordinances and good Commandments,
14 And declaredst unto them thine holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, and ordinances, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
15 (H)And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, (I)and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst: and (J)promisedst them that they should go in, and take possession of the land: for the which thou hadst lifted up thine hand for to give them.
16 But they and our fathers behaved themselves proudly and hardened their neck, so that they hearkened not unto thy Commandments,
17 But refused to obey, and would not remember thy marvelous works that thou hadst done for them, but hardened their necks, and had in their heads to return to their bondage by their rebellion: but thou, O God of mercies, gracious and full of compassion, of long-suffering, and of great mercy, yet forsookest them not.
18 Moreover, when they made them a molten calf (and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt) and committed great blasphemies,
19 Yet thou for thy great mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: (K)the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them the way, neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way whereby they should go.
20 Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy Manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
21 Thou didst also feed them forty years in the wilderness: they lacked nothing: (L)their clothes waxed not old, and their feet [d]swelled not.
22 And thou gavest them kingdoms and people, and [e]scatteredst them into corners: so they possessed (M)the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.
23 And thou didst multiply their children like the stars of the heaven, and broughtest them into the land, whereof thou hadst spoken unto their fathers, that they should go, and possess it.
24 So the children went in, and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, even the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, that they might do with them what they would.
25 And they took their strong cities and the fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, cisterns dug out, vineyards and olives, and trees for food in abundance, and they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and lived in pleasure through thy great goodness.
26 Yet they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy Law behind their backs, and slew thy Prophets (which [f]protested among them to turn them unto thee) and committed great blasphemies.
27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies that vexed them: yet in the time of their affliction, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from the heaven, and through thy great mercies thou gavest them saviors, who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries.
28 But when they had [g]rest, they returned to do evil before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them, yet when they converted and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven, and deliveredst them according to thy great mercies many times,
29 And protestedst among them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy Law: but they behaved themselves proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments ((N)which a man should do and live in them) and [h]pulled away the shoulder, and were stiff-necked, and would not [i]hear.
30 Yet thou [j]didst forbear them many years, and protestedst among them by thy Spirit, even by the hand of thy Prophets, but they would not hear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.
31 Yet for thy great mercies thou hast not consumed them, neither forsaken them: for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
32 Now therefore our God, (O)thou great God, mighty and terrible, that keepest covenant and (P)mercy, let not all the affliction that hath come unto us, seem a little before thee, that is, to our Kings, to our Princes, and to our Priests, and to our Prophets, and to our fathers, and to all thy people since the time of the [k]kings of Assyria unto this day.
33 Surely thou art just in all that is come upon us: for thou hast [l]dealt truly, but we have done wickedly.
34 And our kings and our princes, our priests and our fathers have not done thy Law, nor regarded thy commandments, nor thy protestations, wherewith thou hast [m]protested among them.
35 And they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou showedst unto them, and in the large and fat land which thou didst set before them, and have not converted from their evil works.
36 Behold, we are servants this day, and the land that thou gavest unto our fathers, to eat the [n]fruit thereof, and the goodness thereof, behold, we are servants therein.
37 And it yieldeth much fruit unto the kings whom thou hast set over us, because of our sins: and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great affliction.
38 Now because of all this we make [o]a sure covenant, and write it, and our princes, our Levites, and our Priests seal unto it.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 9:1 Meaning, the seventh.
- Nehemiah 9:2 Hebrew, strange children.
- Nehemiah 9:3 They made confession of their sins, and used prayers.
- Nehemiah 9:21 Though the way was tedious and long.
- Nehemiah 9:22 Meaning, the heathen whom he drove out.
- Nehemiah 9:26 Taking heaven and earth to witness, that God would destroy them, except they returned, as 2 Chron. 24:19.
- Nehemiah 9:28 He declareth how God’s mercies ever contended with the wickedness of the people, who ever in their prosperity forgat God.
- Nehemiah 9:29 Which is a similitude taken of oxen that shrink at the yoke or burden, as Zech. 7:11.
- Nehemiah 9:29 When thou didst admonish them by thy Prophets.
- Nehemiah 9:30 Hebrew, thou didst prolong upon them many years.
- Nehemiah 9:32 By whom we were led away into captivity, and have been appointed to be slain, as Esther 3:13.
- Nehemiah 9:33 He confesseth that all these things came to them justly for their sins, but he appealeth from God’s justice to his mercies.
- Nehemiah 9:34 That thou wouldest destroy them, except they would return to thee, as verse 26.
- Nehemiah 9:36 That is, to be the Lord’s therof.
- Nehemiah 9:38 Thus by affliction they promise to keep God’s commandments, whereunto they could not be brought by God’s great benefits.
Nehemiah 9
King James Version
9 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.
2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God.
4 Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God.
5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
7 Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham;
8 And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous:
9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;
10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.
11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
12 Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.
13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
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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