Nehemiah 9
Legacy Standard Bible
Israel Confesses Their Sins
9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of (A)this month the sons of Israel gathered (B)with fasting, in sackcloth and with (C)dirt upon them. 2 The (D)seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and (E)confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And (F)they rose up in their place and read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they were confessing and worshiping Yahweh their God. 4 (G)Then Jeshua rose up on the Levites’ platform, along with Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they cried out with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.
5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Rise up, bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting!
O may Your glorious name be blessed
And exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 (H)You alone are Yahweh.
(I)You have made the heavens,
The heaven of heavens with all their host,
The earth and all that is on it,
The seas and all that is in them.
(J)You give life to all of them
And the heavenly host bows down to You.
7 You are Yahweh God,
(K)Who chose Abram
And brought him out from (L)Ur of the Chaldees,
And (M)gave him the name Abraham.
8 You found (N)his heart faithful before You,
And cut a covenant with him
To give him the land of the Canaanite,
Of the Hittite and the Amorite,
Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite—
To give it to his seed.
And You (O)have established Your promise,
For You are righteous.
9 “(P)You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And (Q)heard their cry by the [a]Red Sea.
10 Then You performed (R)signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants and all the people of his land;
For You knew that (S)they acted presumptuously toward them,
And (T)made a name for Yourself as it is this day.
11 (U)You split the sea before them,
So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land;
And (V)their pursuers You cast into the depths,
Like a stone into mighty waters.
12 And with a pillar of cloud (W)You led them by day,
And with a pillar of fire by night
To light for them the way
In which they were to go.
13 Then (X)You came down on Mount Sinai,
And (Y)spoke with them from heaven;
You gave them (Z)upright judgments and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
14 So You made known to them (AA)Your holy sabbath,
And commanded to them commandments, statutes and law,
By the hand of Your servant Moses.
15 You (AB)gave bread from heaven for them for their hunger,
You (AC)brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst,
And You (AD)said to them to enter in order to possess
The land which You [b]swore to give them.
16 “But they, our fathers, (AE)acted presumptuously;
They [c](AF)became stiff-necked and would not listen to Your commandments.
17 They refused to listen,
And (AG)did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You did among them;
So they became stiff-necked and (AH)gave themselves a chief to return to their slavery [d]in Egypt.
But You are a God (AI)of lavish forgiveness,
Gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not forsake them.
18 Even when they (AJ)made for themselves
A molten calf
And said, ‘This is your God
Who brought you up from Egypt,’
And [e]committed great [f]blasphemies,
19 (AK)But You, in Your abundant compassion,
Did not forsake them in the wilderness;
(AL)The pillar of cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on their way,
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To light for them the way in which they were to go.
20 (AM)You gave Your good Spirit to give them insight,
Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst.
21 Indeed, (AN)forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, and they did not lack;
Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell.
22 You also gave them kingdoms and peoples,
And apportioned them to them as a [g]boundary.
(AO)They took possession of the land of Sihon [h]the king of Heshbon
And the land of Og the king of Bashan.
23 You made their sons numerous as (AP)the stars of heaven,
And You brought them into the land
Which You had said for their fathers to enter and possess.
24 (AQ)So their sons entered and possessed the land.
And (AR)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 (AS)They captured fortified cities and a [i](AT)rich [j]land.
They took possession of (AU)houses full of every good thing,
Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,
Trees for food in abundance.
So they ate, were filled, and (AV)grew fat,
And (AW)reveled in Your great goodness.
26 “(AX)But they became disobedient and rebelled against You,
And (AY)cast Your law behind their backs
And (AZ)killed Your prophets who had (BA)testified to them
So that they might return to You,
And (BB)they [k]committed great [l]blasphemies.
27 Therefore You (BC)gave them into the hand of the ones who distressed them, and they afflicted them with distress,
But (BD)at the time of their distress they cried to You,
And You listened from heaven, and according to Your abundant compassion
You (BE)gave them saviors and they saved them from the hand of the ones that distressed them.
28 But (BF)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 (BG)many times You delivered them according to Your compassion,
29 And (BH)testified to them in order to turn them back to Your law.
Yet (BI)they acted presumptuously and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your judgments,
By (BJ)which if a man does them, he shall live.
And they (BK)gave a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen.
30 (BL)However, You bore with them for many years,
And (BM)testified to them by (BN)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 (BO)did not make a complete destruction of them or forsake them,
For You are (BP)a gracious and compassionate God.
32 “So now, our God, (BQ)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,
(BR)From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.
33 However, (BS)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 (BT)they, in their own kingdom,
(BU)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, (BV)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 (BW)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.
An Agreement Is Cut
38 “[m]Now because of all this
(BX)We are cutting an agreement in writing;
And on the (BY)sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.”
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 9:9 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Nehemiah 9:15 Lit lifted up Your hand
- Nehemiah 9:16 Lit stiffened their neck, so also v 17
- Nehemiah 9:17 As in Gr and some Heb mss; Heb in their rebellion
- Nehemiah 9:18 Lit did
- Nehemiah 9:18 Lit acts of contempt
- Nehemiah 9:22 Lit side, corner
- Nehemiah 9:22 As in Gr and Lat; Heb and the land of the king of Heshbon
- Nehemiah 9:25 Lit fat
- Nehemiah 9:25 Or ground
- Nehemiah 9:26 Lit did
- Nehemiah 9:26 Lit acts of contempt
- Nehemiah 9:38 Ch 10:1 in Heb
Nechemyah 9
Orthodox Jewish Bible
9 Now in the 24th day of this month the Bnei Yisroel were assembled with a tzom, with sack-cloth, and adamah upon them.
2 And the Zera Yisroel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their chattot, and the avonot of their avot.
3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the Sefer Torat Hashem Eloheihem one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshiped Hashem Eloheihem.
4 Then stood up upon the platform, of the Levi’im, Yeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shevanyah, Bunni, Sherevyah, Bani, and Kenani, and cried with a kol gadol unto Hashem Eloheihem.
5 Then the Levi’im, Yeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Chashavneyah, Sherevyah, Hodiyah, Shevanyah, and Petachyah, said, Stand up and bless Hashem Eloheichem for ever and ever; and blessed be Shem Kevodecha, which is exalted above all brocha and tehillah.
6 Thou, even Thou, art Hashem alone; Thou hast made HaShomayim, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, ha’aretz, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and Thou preservest them all; and the Tz’va HaShomayim worshipeth Thee.
7 Thou art Hashem HaElohim, Who didst choose Avram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur Kasdim, and gavest shmo Avraham;
8 And foundest his lev ne’eman before Thee, and madest habrit (the covenant) with him to give the eretz HaKena’ani, the Chitti, the Emori, and the Perizzi, and the Yevusi, and the Girgashi, to give it to his zera, and hast performed Thy words; for Thou art tzaddik;
9 And didst see the affliction of Avoteinu in Mitzrayim, and heardest their cry by the Yam Suf;
10 And showedst otot and mofetim upon Pharaoh, and on all his avadim, and on kol HaAm of his land; for Thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst Thou get Thee a Shem, as it is this day.
11 And Thou didst divide the yam before them, so that they went through the midst of the yam on the yabashah; and their persecutors Thou threwest into the depths, as an even (stone) into the mighty waters.
12 Moreover Thou leddest them in the day by an Ammud Anan; and in the night by an Ammud Eish, to give them ohr in the way wherein they should go.
13 Thou camest down also upon Mt Sinai, and spoke with them from Shomayim, and gavest them mishpatim yesharim, and torot emes, chukkim and mitzvot tovim;
14 And madest known unto them Thy Shabbos Kadosh, and commandedst them mitzvot, chukkim, and torah, by the yad of Moshe Thy eved;
15 And gavest them lechem from Shomayim for their hunger, and broughtest forth mayim for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess Ha’Aretz which Thou hadst sworn to give them.
16 But they and Avoteinu dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and paid heed not to Thy mitzvot,
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 rosh to return to their bondage; but Thou art Eloah Selichot, channun and rachum, slow to anger, and of great chesed, and forsookest them not.
18 Yea, when they had made them an egel massekhah, and said, This is Eloheicha that brought thee up out of Mitzrayim, or when they committed ne’atzot gedolot (great blasphemies);
19 Yet Thou in Thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the midbar; the Ammud heAnan departed not from them by day, to lead them in HaDerech; neither the Ammud HaEish by night, to show them light, and HaDerech wherein they should walk.
20 Thou gavest also Thy Ruach HaTovah to instruct them, and withheldest not Thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them mayim for their thirst.
21 Yea, arba’im shanah didst Thou sustain them in the midbar, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out, and their feet swelled not.
22 Moreover Thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, allotting them as a boundary; so they possessed Eretz Sichon, and Eretz Melech Cheshbon, and Eretz Og Melech HaBashan.
23 Their children also multipliedst Thou as the kokhavim of Shomayim, and broughtest them into Ha’Aretz, concerning which Thou hadst promised to their avot, that they should go in to possess it.
24 So the children went in and possessed Ha’Aretz, and Thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Kena’anim, and gavest them into their hands, with their melachim, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
25 And they took fortified cities, and an adamah shemenah, and possessed batim full of all goods, wells dug, kramim, 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 torah behind their backs, and slaughtered Thy nevi’im which testified against them to turn them to Thee, and they wrought ne’atzot gedolot.
27 Therefore Thou deliveredst them into the yad of their enemies, who oppressed them; and in the time of their tzoros, when they cried unto Thee, Thou heardest them from Shomayim; and according to Thy manifold mercies Thou gavest them moshi’im (deliverers), who saved them out of the yad of their enemies.
28 But after they had rest, they did rah again before Thee; therefore Thou abandoned them unto the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned, cried unto Thee, Thou heardest them from Shomayim; and many times didst Thou deliver them according to Thy mercies;
29 And testifiedst against them, that Thou mightest bring them again unto Thy torah; yet they dealt proudly, and paid heed not unto Thy mitzvot, but sinned against Thy mishpatim, which if a man do, he shall live in them; and they stubbornly turned their backs, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
30 Yet many shanim didst Thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by Thy Ruach [Hakodesh] by Thy nevi’im; yet would they not give ear; therefore gavest Thou them into the yad of the peoples of the lands.
31 Nevertheless for Thy great mercies’ sake Thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for Thou art El Channun v’Rachum.
32 Now therefore, Eloheinu, the great, the mighty, and the terrible G-d, Who keepest brit and chesed, let not all the hardships seem little before Thee, that hath come upon us, on melacheinu, on sareinu, and on Kohaneinu, and on nevi’einu, and on Avoteinu, and on all Thy people, since the time of the melachim of Assyria unto this day.
33 Howbeit Thou art tzaddik in all that is brought upon us; for Thou hast done emes, but we have done wrong;
34 Neither have melacheinu, sareinu, Kohaneinu, nor Avoteinu, kept Thy torah, nor paid heed unto Thy mitzvot and Thy testimonies, wherewith Thou didst testify against them.
35 For they have not served Thee in their malchut, and in Thy great goodness that Thou gavest them, and in the large and fertile land which Thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
36 Hinei, we are avadim this day, and for the land that Thou gavest unto Avoteinu to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, hinei, we are avadim in it;
37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the melachim whom Thou hast set over us because of chattoteinu; also they have dominion over geviyyoteinu, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in tzarah gedolah.
38 (10:1) And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our sarim, Levi’im, and Kohanim, seal unto it.
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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