1-3 Then on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the People of Israel gathered for a fast, wearing burlap and faces smudged with dirt as signs of repentance. The Israelites broke off all relations with foreigners, stood up, and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their parents. While they stood there in their places, they read from the Book of The Revelation of God, their God, for a quarter of the day. For another quarter of the day they confessed and worshiped their God.

4-5 A group of Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the platform and cried out to God, their God, in a loud voice. The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, “On your feet! Bless God, your God, for ever and ever!”

5-6 Blessed be your glorious name,
    exalted above all blessing and praise!
You’re the one,
    God, you alone;
You made the heavens,
    the heavens of heavens, and all angels;
The earth and everything on it,
    the seas and everything in them;
You keep them all alive;
    heaven’s angels worship you!

7-8 You’re the one, God,the God
    who chose Abram
And brought him from Ur of the Chaldees
    and changed his name to Abraham.
You found his heart to be steady and true to you
    and signed a covenant with him,
A covenant to give him the land of the Canaanites,
    the Hittites, and the Amorites,
The Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites,
    —to give it to his descendants.
And you kept your word
    because you are righteous.

9-15 You saw the anguish of our parents in Egypt.
    You heard their cries at the Red Sea;
You amazed Pharaoh, his servants, and the people of his land
    with wonders and miracle-signs.
You knew their bullying arrogance against your people;
    you made a name for yourself that lasts to this day.
You split the sea before them;
    they crossed through and never got their feet wet;
You pitched their pursuers into the deep;
    they sank like a rock in the storm-tossed sea.
By day you led them with a Pillar of Cloud,
    and by night with a Pillar of Fire
To show them the way
    they were to travel.
You came down onto Mount Sinai,
    you spoke to them out of heaven;
You gave them instructions on how to live well,
    true teaching, sound rules and commands;
You introduced them
    to your Holy Sabbath;
Through your servant Moses you decreed
    commands, rules, and instruction.
You gave bread from heaven for their hunger,
    you sent water from the rock for their thirst.
You told them to enter and take the land,
    which you promised to give them.

16-19 But they, our ancestors, were arrogant;
    bullheaded, they wouldn’t obey your commands.
They turned a deaf ear, they refused
    to remember the miracles you had done for them;
They turned stubborn, got it into their heads
    to return to their Egyptian slavery.
And you, a forgiving God,
    gracious and compassionate,
Incredibly patient, with tons of love—
    you didn’t dump them.
Yes, even when they cast a sculpted calf
    and said, “This is your god
Who brought you out of Egypt,”
    and continued from bad to worse,
You in your amazing compassion
    didn’t walk off and leave them in the desert.
The Pillar of Cloud didn’t leave them;
    daily it continued to show them their route;
The Pillar of Fire did the same by night,
    showed them the right way to go.

20-23 You gave them your good Spirit
    to teach them to live wisely.
You were never miserly with your manna,
    gave them plenty of water to drink.
You supported them forty years in that desert;
    they had everything they needed;
Their clothes didn’t wear out
    and their feet never blistered.
You gave them kingdoms and peoples,
    establishing generous boundaries.
They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon
    and the country of Og king of Bashan.
You multiplied children for them,
    rivaling the stars in the night skies,
And you brought them into the land
    that you promised their ancestors
    they would get and own.

24-25 Well, they entered all right,
    they took it and settled in.
The Canaanites who lived there
    you brought to their knees before them.
You turned over their land, kings, and peoples
    to do with as they pleased.
They took strong cities and fertile fields,
    they took over well-furnished houses,
Cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,
    and lush, extensive orchards.
And they ate, grew fat on the fat of the land;
    they reveled in your bountiful goodness.

26-31 But then they mutinied, rebelled against you,
    threw out your laws and killed your prophets,
The very prophets who tried to get them back on your side—
    and then things went from bad to worse.
You turned them over to their enemies,
    who made life rough for them.
But when they called out for help in their troubles
    you listened from heaven;
And in keeping with your bottomless compassion
    you gave them saviors:
Saviors who saved them
    from the cruel abuse of their enemies.
But as soon as they had it easy again
    they were right back at it—more evil.
So you turned away and left them again to their fate,
    to the enemies who came right back.
They cried out to you again; in your great compassion
    you heard and helped them again.
    This went on over and over and over.
You warned them to return to your Revelation,
    they responded with haughty arrogance:
They brushed off your commands, spurned your rules
    —the very words by which men and women live!
They set their jaws in defiance,
    they turned their backs on you and didn’t listen.
You put up with them year after year
    and warned them by your spirit through your prophets;
But when they refused to listen
    you abandoned them to foreigners.
Still, because of your great compassion,
    you didn’t make a total end to them.
You didn’t walk out and leave them for good;
    yes, you are a God of grace and compassion.

32-37 And now, our God, the great God,
    God majestic and terrible, loyal in covenant and love,
Don’t treat lightly the trouble that has come to us,
    to our kings and princes, our priests and prophets,
Our ancestors, and all your people from the time
    of the Assyrian kings right down to today.
You are not to blame
    for all that has come down on us;
You did everything right,
    we did everything wrong.
None of our kings, princes, priests, or ancestors
    followed your Revelation;
They ignored your commands,
    dismissed the warnings you gave them.
Even when they had their own kingdom
    and were enjoying your generous goodness,
Living in that spacious and fertile land
    that you spread out before them,
They didn’t serve you
    or turn their backs on the practice of evil.
And here we are, slaves again today;
    and here’s the land you gave our ancestors
So they could eat well and enjoy a good life,
    and now look at us—no better than slaves on this land.
Its wonderful crops go to the kings
    you put over us because of our sins;
They act like they own our bodies
    and do whatever they like with our cattle.
    We’re in deep trouble.

38 “Because of all this we are drawing up a binding pledge, a sealed document signed by our princes, our Levites, and our priests.”

* * *

The Israelites Confess Their Sins

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.(A) Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.(B) They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.(C) They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God. Standing on the stairs of the Levites(D) were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani. They cried out with loud voices to the Lord their God. And the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah—said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God,(E) who is from everlasting to everlasting.[a]

“Blessed be your glorious name,(F) and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord.(G) You made the heavens,(H) even the highest heavens, and all their starry host,(I) the earth(J) and all that is on it, the seas(K) and all that is in them.(L) You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven(M) worship you.

“You are the Lord God, who chose Abram(N) and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans(O) and named him Abraham.(P) You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.(Q) You have kept your promise(R) because you are righteous.(S)

“You saw the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt;(T) you heard their cry at the Red Sea.[b](U) 10 You sent signs(V) and wonders(W) against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name(X) for yourself,(Y) which remains to this day. 11 You divided the sea before them,(Z) so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths,(AA) like a stone into mighty waters.(AB) 12 By day(AC) you led(AD) them with a pillar of cloud,(AE) and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.

13 “You came down on Mount Sinai;(AF) you spoke(AG) to them from heaven.(AH) You gave them regulations and laws that are just(AI) and right, and decrees and commands that are good.(AJ) 14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath(AK) and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. 15 In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven(AL) and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock;(AM) you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand(AN) to give them.(AO)

16 “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked,(AP) and they did not obey your commands.(AQ) 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember(AR) the miracles(AS) you performed among them. They became stiff-necked(AT) and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery.(AU) But you are a forgiving God,(AV) gracious and compassionate,(AW) slow to anger(AX) and abounding in love.(AY) Therefore you did not desert them,(AZ) 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf(BA) and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies.(BB)

19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon(BC) them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud(BD) did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave your good Spirit(BE) to instruct(BF) them. You did not withhold your manna(BG) from their mouths, and you gave them water(BH) for their thirst. 21 For forty years(BI) you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing,(BJ) their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.(BK)

22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon[c](BL) king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan.(BM) 23 You made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky,(BN) 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.(BO) You subdued(BP) 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;(BQ) they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things,(BR) wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished;(BS) they reveled in your great goodness.(BT)

26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law.(BU) They killed(BV) your prophets,(BW) who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies.(BX) 27 So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies,(BY) who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion(BZ) you gave them deliverers,(CA) 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.(CB) 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(CC) you delivered them(CD) time after time.

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

32 “Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty(CO) and awesome,(CP) who keeps his covenant of love,(CQ) do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship(CR) 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;(CS) you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly.(CT) 34 Our kings,(CU) our leaders, our priests and our ancestors(CV) 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(CW) to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you(CX) or turn from their evil ways.

36 “But see, we are slaves(CY) 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.(CZ)

The Agreement of the People

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

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 9:5 Or God for ever and ever
  2. Nehemiah 9:9 Or the Sea of Reeds
  3. Nehemiah 9:22 One Hebrew manuscript and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts Sihon, that is, the country of the
  4. Nehemiah 9:38 In Hebrew texts this verse (9:38) is numbered 10:1.