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.
Nehemiah 9:6-37
International Standard Version
6 “You are the Lord;
you alone crafted the heavens,
the highest heavens
with all of their armies;
the earth, and everything in it;
the seas, and everything in them;
you keep giving all of them life,
and the army of heaven continuously worships you.
7 You are the Lord,
the God who chose Abram,
whom you brought from Ur of the Chaldeans
and to whom you gave the name Abraham.
8 You found him[a] faithful in your sight;
you made a covenant with him
and you gave the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites,
the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites,
and the Girgashites to his descendants.
And you have kept your word,
because you are righteous.
9 “You took note of the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt,
and listened to their cry at the Red Sea.
10 You sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
against all of his officials,
and against all the people of his land,
because you knew they acted arrogantly against your people.[b]
So you established your name with them,
as it remains to this day.
11 You divided the sea in front of them,
and they traveled through the midst of the sea on dry ground.
You hurled their pursuers into the depths,
as one throws[c] a stone into turbulent waters.
12 You led them during the day by a pillar of cloud,
and by a pillar of fire at night
to provide light for them
on the path they took.
13 “You also came down to Mount Sinai,
spoke with them from heaven,
and gave them impartial regulations, true laws,
statutes, and good commands.
14 You revealed to them your holy Sabbath,
and you mandated precepts, statutes, and laws
through Moses your servant.
15 You gave them food from heaven for their hunger
and water from the rock for their thirst.
You directed them to enter and possess the land
that you had promised to give them.
16 “But they—our ancestors—became arrogant and stubborn,
refusing to listen[d] to your commands.
17 They would not listen,[e]
and did not remember the miracles you did among them.
Instead, they became stubborn
and appointed a leader
to return them to their slavery.
“But you are a God of forgiveness,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger,
and rich in gracious love;
therefore you did not abandon them.
18 Moreover, after they had cast a golden calf for themselves, they said,
“This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!”
and committed terrible[f] blasphemies.
19 You, in your great compassion,
did not abandon them in the wilderness.
The pillar of cloud did not leave them in daylight,
in order to provide light for them on the path they took.
Nor did the pillar of fire abandon them[g] at night,
in order to provide light for them
and lead them on the path they took.
20 “You gave your good Spirit to instruct them,
not withholding manna from them,[h]
and providing water to quench[i] their thirst.
21 You sustained them in the wilderness for 40 years.
They lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out,
and their feet did not swell.
22 You gave them kingdoms and nations,
apportioning them as frontier boundaries.
They took possession of the land of Sihon,
the land of the king of Heshbon,
and the land of Og, king of Bashan.
23 “You multiplied their descendants like the stars in heaven
and brought them to the land
about which you told their ancestors
to enter and possess.
24 So their descendants entered
and took possession of the land.
Before their eyes you subdued those living in the land—the Canaanites—
putting them under their control,
along with their kings and the peoples of the land,
so they could do with them as they pleased.
25 They conquered fortified cities and fertile ground,
possessing houses filled with all kinds of good things,
wells already dug, with vineyards,
olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate, were satiated, and were well nourished,
delighting themselves in your great goodness.
26 “Then they disobeyed, rebelled against you,
and threw your Law behind their backs.
They murdered your prophets
who had admonished the people[j] to return to you,
committing terrible blasphemies.
27 So you delivered them into the control of their enemies,
who oppressed them.
But when they were oppressed,
they cried out to you,
and you heard from heaven.
In your great compassion
you gave them deliverers who rescued them
from the control of their enemies.
28 “But after they had gained relief,
they returned to doing evil before you.
Therefore you abandoned them to the control of their enemies,
who continued to oppress them.
But when they came back and cried out to you,
you listened from heaven
and delivered them in your compassion on many occasions.
29 You admonished them to return to your Law,
but they acted arrogantly,
and would not listen[k] to your commands.
They sinned against your regulations,
which if anyone obeys,
he will live by them.
They turned away,
being stubborn and stiff-necked,
and they did not listen.[l]
30 You were patient with them for many years,
warning them by your Spirit
through[m] your prophets.
But they would not listen,
so you turned them over
to the control of people in other[n] lands.
31 Nevertheless, in your great compassion
you did not completely destroy them
or abandon them,
because you are a God of grace
and you are merciful.
32 “Now therefore, our God,
the great, mighty, and awesome God,
who keeps the covenant and gracious love,
don’t let all of the difficulties seem trifling to you,
all of hardships that have come upon us, upon our kings,
upon our leaders, upon our priests,
upon our prophets, upon our ancestors,
and upon all of your people
from the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.
33 You are righteous in all that is happening to us,
because you have acted faithfully
while we have practiced evil.
34 Furthermore, neither our kings,
nor our leaders, nor our priests
nor our ancestors have practiced your Law
or paid attention to your commands and warnings
by which you admonished them.
35 But they in their kingdom—
in the midst of your great goodness that you gave them
and in the large and fertile land
that you provided them—
did not serve you
or turn away from their evil deeds.
36 “Look! Today we are your servants,
along with the land that you gave to our ancestors,
so they could enjoy its fruit and its value—
behold, in it we are your servants!
37 But now its abundant produce belongs to the kings
whom you placed over us
because of our sin.
They also have power over our bodies and our herds
at their pleasure,
and we are in great distress.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 9:8 Lit. found his heart
- Nehemiah 9:10 Lit. against them
- Nehemiah 9:11 The Heb. lacks one throws
- Nehemiah 9:16 Or obey
- Nehemiah 9:17 Or obey
- Nehemiah 9:18 Or great
- Nehemiah 9:19 The Heb. lacks abandon them
- Nehemiah 9:20 Lit. from their mouths
- Nehemiah 9:20 The Heb. lacks quench
- Nehemiah 9:26 Lit. admonished them
- Nehemiah 9:29 Or obey
- Nehemiah 9:29 Or obey
- Nehemiah 9:30 Lit. through the hand of
- Nehemiah 9:30 Lit. the
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