Nehemiah 9:6-37
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
6 And Ezra said,[a] “You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you.(A) 7 You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham;(B) 8 and you found his heart faithful before you and made with him a covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, and you have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.(C)
9 “And you saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea.[b](D) 10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted insolently against our ancestors. You made a name for yourself that remains to this day.(E) 11 And you divided the sea before them, so that they passed through the sea on dry land, but you threw their pursuers into the depths like a stone into mighty waters.(F) 12 Moreover, you led them by day with a pillar of cloud and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the way in which they should go.(G) 13 You came down also upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments,(H) 14 and you made known your holy Sabbath to them and gave them commandments and statutes and a law through Moses your servant.(I) 15 For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven, and for their thirst you brought water for them out of the rock, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you swore to give them.(J)
16 “But they, our ancestors, acted presumptuously and stiffened their necks and did not obey your commandments;(K) 17 they refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and you did not forsake them.(L) 18 Even when they had cast an image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies,(M) 19 you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud that led them in the way did not leave them by day nor the pillar of fire by night that gave them light on the way by which they should go.(N) 20 You gave your good spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouths and gave them water for their thirst.(O) 21 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness so that they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.(P) 22 And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner,[c] so they took possession of the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.(Q) 23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them into the land that you had told their ancestors to enter and possess.(R) 24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, to do with them as they pleased.(S) 25 And they captured fortress cities and a rich land and took possession of houses filled with all sorts of goods, hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance; so they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.(T)
26 “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their backs and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.(U) 27 Therefore you gave them into the hands of their enemies, who made them suffer. Then in the time of their suffering they cried out to you, and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hands of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest, they again did evil before you, and you abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them, yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you rescued them according to your mercies. 29 And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law, yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments but sinned against your ordinances, by the observance of which a person shall live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. 30 Many years you were patient with them and warned them by your spirit through your prophets, yet they would not listen. Therefore you handed them over to the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
32 “Now therefore, our God—the great and mighty and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love—do not treat lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings, our officials, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until today. 33 You have been just in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly; 34 our kings, our officials, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law or heeded the commandments and the warnings that you gave them. 35 Even in their own kingdom, and in the great goodness you bestowed on them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you and did not turn from their wicked works. 36 Here we are, slaves to this day, slaves in the land that you gave to our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts.(V) 37 Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.”(W)
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Nehemiah 9:6-37
Christian Standard Bible
6 You,[a] Lord, are the only God.[b](A)
You created the heavens,
the highest heavens with all their stars,
the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to all of them,(B)
and all the stars of heaven worship you.(C)
7 You, the Lord,
are the God who chose Abram
and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,(D)
and changed his name to Abraham.(E)
8 You found his heart faithful in your sight,(F)
and made a covenant with him
to give the land of the Canaanites,
Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites,
Jebusites, and Girgashites—
to give it to his descendants.(G)
You have fulfilled your promise,
for you are righteous.
9 You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egypt(H)
and heard their cry at the Red Sea.
10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
all his officials, and all the people of his land,(I)
for you knew how arrogantly they treated our ancestors.
You made a name for yourself
that endures to this day.
11 You divided the sea before them,
and they crossed through it on dry ground.(J)
You hurled their pursuers into the depths
like a stone into raging water.(K)
12 You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,
and with a pillar of fire by night,
to illuminate the way they should go.(L)
13 You came down on Mount Sinai,(M)
and spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions,
and good statutes and commands.
14 You revealed your holy Sabbath to them,
and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction
through your servant Moses.(N)
15 You provided bread from heaven(O) for their hunger;
you brought them water from the rock(P) for their thirst.
You told them to go in and possess the land
you had sworn[c] to give them.(Q)
16 But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to your commands.
17 They refused to listen
and did not remember your wonders
you performed among them.(R)
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.[d](S)
But you are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love,(T)
and you did not abandon them.
18 Even after they had cast an image of a calf
for themselves and said,
“This is your god who brought you out of Egypt,”(U)
and they had committed terrible blasphemies,
19 you did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go.(V)
20 You sent your good Spirit(W) to instruct them.
You did not withhold your manna(X) from their mouths,
and you gave them water for their thirst.(Y)
21 You provided for them in the wilderness forty years,(Z)
and they lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out,
and their feet did not swell.(AA)
22 You gave them kingdoms and peoples
and established boundaries for them.
They took possession
of the land of King Sihon[e] of Heshbon
and of the land of King Og of Bashan.(AB)
23 You multiplied their descendants
like the stars of the sky(AC)
and brought them to the land
you told their ancestors to go in and possess.
24 So their descendants went in and possessed the land:
You subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land before them
and handed their kings and the surrounding peoples over to them,(AD)
to do as they pleased with them.
25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land
and took possession of well-supplied houses,
cisterns cut out of rock, vineyards,
olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance.(AE)
They ate, were filled,
became prosperous, and delighted in your great goodness.
26 But they were disobedient and rebelled against you.
They flung your law behind their backs(AF)
and killed your prophets(AG)
who warned them
in order to turn them back to you.
They committed terrible blasphemies.
27 So you handed them over to their enemies,
who oppressed them.
In their time of distress, they cried out to you,
and you heard from heaven.
In your abundant compassion
you gave them deliverers, who rescued them
from the power of their enemies.
28 But as soon as they had relief,
they again did what was evil in your sight.
So you abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who dominated them.
When they cried out to you again,
you heard from heaven and rescued them
many times in your compassion.(AH)
29 You warned them to turn back to your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey your commands.
They sinned against your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them.(AI)
They stubbornly resisted,[f]
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
30 You were patient with them for many years,
and your Spirit warned them through your prophets,(AJ)
but they would not listen.
Therefore, you handed them over to the surrounding peoples.(AK)
31 However, in your abundant compassion,
you did not destroy them or abandon them,(AL)
for you are a gracious and compassionate God.(AM)
32 So now, our God—the great, mighty,
and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant(AN)—
do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,
our kings and leaders,
our priests and prophets,
our ancestors and all your people,
from the days of the Assyrian kings(AO) until today.
33 You are righteous concerning all that has happened to us,
because you have acted faithfully,
while we have acted wickedly.(AP)
34 Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors
did not obey your law
or listen to your commands
and warnings you gave them.
35 When they were in their kingdom,
with your abundant goodness that you gave them,
and in the spacious and fertile land you set before them,(AQ)
they would not serve you or turn from their wicked ways.
36 Here we are today,
slaves in the land you gave our ancestors
so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.
Here we are—slaves in it!(AR)
37 Its abundant harvest goes to the kings
you have set over us,
because of our sins.
They rule over our bodies
and our livestock as they please.(AS)
We are in great distress.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.