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Israel Confesses Sins

It was on the twenty-fourth day of that same month. The people of Israel gathered together. They did not eat. And they put on rough cloth and put dust on their heads. This was to show their sadness. Those people whose ancestors were from Israel had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood and confessed their sins and their ancestors’ sins. For a fourth of the day they stood where they were. And they read from the Book of the Teachings of the Lord their God. Then they spent another fourth of the day confessing their sins. And they worshiped the Lord their God. These Levites were standing on the stairs: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kanani. They called out to the Lord their God with loud voices. And these Levites spoke: Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah. They said, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God. He lives forever and ever.”

The People’s Prayer

“Blessed be your wonderful name.
    It is more wonderful than all blessing and praise.
You are the only Lord.
    You made the heavens, even the highest heavens.
    You made all the stars.
You made the earth and everything that is on it.
    You made the seas and everything that is in them.
    You give life to everything.
The heavenly army worships you.

“You are the Lord God.
    You chose Abram.
You brought him out of Ur of the Babylonians.
    You named him Abraham.
You found that he was faithful to you.
    So you made an agreement with him.
You promised to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites,
    Hittites, Amorites,
    Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.
You have kept your promise.
    You are fair.

“You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt.
    You heard them cry out at the Red Sea.
10 You did signs and miracles against the king of Egypt.
    And you did them against all his officers and all the people of Egypt.
    You knew how proud they were.
You made everyone know your name.
    And it is still known today.
11 You divided the sea in front of our ancestors.
    They walked through it on dry ground.
But you threw the people chasing them into the deep water.
    They were like a stone being thrown into mighty waters.
12 You led our ancestors with a pillar of cloud in the daytime.
    And you led them with a pillar of fire at night.
It lit the way
    they were supposed to go.
13 You came down to Mount Sinai.
    You talked to our ancestors from heaven.
You gave them fair rules and true teachings.
    You gave them good orders and commands.
14 You told them about your holy Sabbath.
    You gave commands, orders and teachings to them
    through your servant Moses.
15 When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven.
    When they were thirsty, you brought them water from the rock.
You told them to go into the land and take it over.
    You had promised to give it to them.

16 “But our ancestors were proud and stubborn.
    They did not obey your commands.
17 They refused to listen.
    They forgot the miracles you did for them.
They became stubborn and turned against you.
    They chose a leader to lead them back to their slavery.
But you are a forgiving God.
    You are kind and full of mercy.
You do not become angry quickly. And you have great love.
    So you did not leave them.
18 Our ancestors even made an idol of a calf for themselves.
    They said, ‘This is your god, Israel.
    It brought you up out of Egypt.’
They spoke against you.

19 “You have great mercy.
    So you did not leave them in the desert.
During the day the pillar of cloud guided them on their way.
    And the pillar of fire led them at night.
    It lit the way they were supposed to go.
20 You gave your good Spirit to teach them.
    You gave them manna to eat.
    And you gave them water when they were thirsty.
21 You took care of them for 40 years in the desert.
    They needed nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out.
    And their feet did not swell.

22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations.
    You gave them more land.
They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon.
    And they took over the country of Og king of Bashan.
23 You made their children as many as the stars in the sky.
    And you brought them into the land.
    This was where you had told their ancestors to enter and take over.
24 So their children went into the land and took over.
    The Canaanites lived there.
But you defeated them for our ancestors.
    You handed over to them the Canaanites, their kings and the people of the land.
    Our ancestors could do what they wanted with them.
25 Our ancestors captured strong, walled cities and fertile land.
    They took over houses full of good things.
They took over wells that were already dug.
    They took vineyards, olive trees and many fruit trees.
They ate until they were full and became fat.
    They enjoyed your great goodness.

26 “But they were disobedient and turned against you.
    They ignored your teachings.
Your prophets warned them to come back to you.
    But they killed those prophets.
    And they spoke against you.
27 So you allowed their enemies to defeat them.
    Their enemies treated them badly.
But in this time of trouble our ancestors cried out to you.
    And you heard from heaven.
You had great mercy.
    You gave them saviors who saved them from the power of their enemies.
28 But as soon as they had rest,
    they again did what was evil.
So you left them to their enemies
    who ruled over them.
But they cried out to you again.
    And you heard from heaven.
    Because of your mercy, you saved them again and again.
29 You warned them to return to obeying your teachings.
    But they were proud. They did not obey your commands.
If a man obeys your laws, he will live.
    But they sinned against your laws.
They were stubborn and disobedient.
    They would not listen.
30 You were patient with them for many years.
    You warned them by your Spirit through the prophets.
But they did not pay attention.
    So you allowed them to be defeated by other countries.
31 But because your mercy is great, you did not kill them all.
    You did not leave them.
    You are a kind and merciful God.

32 “And so, our God, you are the great and mighty and wonderful God.
    You keep your agreement of love.
    Do not let all our trouble seem unimportant in your eyes.
This trouble has come to us, to our kings and to our leaders.
    It has come to our priests and prophets.
    It has come to our ancestors and all your people.
This trouble has come to us since the days of the kings of Assyria.
    And it has lasted until today.
33 You have been fair in everything that has happened to us.
    You have been loyal, but we have been wicked.
34 Our kings, leaders, priests and ancestors did not obey your teachings.
    They did not pay attention to the commands and warnings you gave them.
35 Even when our ancestors were living in their kingdom,
    they did not serve you.
They were enjoying all the good things you had given them.
    They were enjoying the land that was fertile and full of room.
    But they did not stop their evil ways.

36 “Look, we are slaves today
    in the land you gave our ancestors.
They were to enjoy its fruit and its good things.
    But look, we are slaves here.
37 The land’s great harvest belongs to the kings you have put over us.
    This is because of our sins.
Those kings rule over us and our cattle as they please.
    And we are in much trouble.

The People’s Agreement

38 “Because of all this, we are making an agreement in writing. Our leaders, Levites and priests are putting their seals on it.”

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.