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I te rua tekau ma wha o nga ra o tenei marama ka huihui nga tama a Iharaira, nohopuku ana, he taratara ano nga kakahu, he oneone kei runga i a ratou.

Na ka wehea nga uri o Iharaira i roto i nga tangata ke katoa: tu ana ratou, whakina ana e ratou o ratou hara, me nga kino o o ratou matua.

Tu ana ratou i to ratou wahi; a i tetahi o nga wehenga e wha o te ra ka korerotia te pukapuka o te ture a Ihowa, a to ratou Atua; a i tetahi o nga wehenga e wha o te ra ka whaki, ka koropiko ki a Ihowa, ki to ratou Atua.

Na ka tu ki runga ki te pikinga o nga Riwaiti, a Hehua, a Pani, a Karamiere, a Hepania, a Puni, a Herepia, a Pani, a Kenani; nui atu to ratou reo ki te karanga ki a Ihowa, ki to ratou Atua.

Katahi ka mea nga Riwaiti, a Hehua, a Karamiere, a Pani, a Hahapania, a Herepia, a Horiia, a Hepania, a Petahia, Whakatika, whakapai ki a Ihowa, ki to koutou Atua a ake ake: kia whakapaingia ano tou ingoa kororia e whakanuia nei ki runga ake i ng a whakapai, i nga whakamoemiti katoa.

Ko koe, ina, ko koe anake a Ihowa; nau i hanga te rangi, te rangi o nga rangi, me o reira tini mea, te whenua, me nga mea katoa i runga, nga moana, me nga mea katoa i roto, ko koe hoki te kaiwhakaora o aua mea katoa; e koropiko ana hoki te ope o te rangi ki a koe.

Ko Ihowa koe, ko te Atua; nau i whiriwhiri a Aperama, a kawea mai ana e koe i Uru o nga Karari, huaina iho e koe tona ingoa ko Aperahama;

I kitea hoki e koe he ngakau pono tona ki tou aroaro, na whakaritea ana e koe he kawenata ki a ia, he mea kia homai te whenua o nga Kanaani, o nga Hiti, o nga Amori, o nga Perihi, o nga Iepuhi, o nga Kirikahi, kia homai ki ona uri, Na kua mana ne i i a koe au kupu; he tika hoki koe.

I kitea ano e koe te tukinotanga o o matou matua i Ihipa, i rongo ano ki ta ratou karanga i te Moana Whero:

10 Na homai ana e koe he tohu, he merekara, ki a Parao, ki ana tangata katoa, ki te iwi katoa o tona whenua: i mohio hoki koe ki ta ratou whakakake ki a ratou. Na kua whai ingoa koe; koia ano tenei inaianei.

11 I wahia ano e koe te moana ki to ratou aroaro, a whiti ana ratou i te wahi maroke, i waenganui o te moana. Tena ko nga kaiaru i a ratou, maka ana e koe ki nga rire, ano he kohatu ki roto ki nga wai kaha.

12 A arahina ana ratou e koe ki te pou kapua i te awatea; ki te pou ahi i te po, hei whakamarama i to ratou ara e haere ai ratou.

13 I heke iho ano koe ki Maunga Hinai, a korero ana ki a ratou i runga i te rangi; homai ana e koe ki a ratou he whakaritenga tika, he ture pono, he tikanga pai, he whakahau.

14 Ko tou hapati tapu nau i whakaatu ki a ratou; me nga whakahau, me nga tikanga, me te ture, nau i whakahau ki a ratou, ara na tau pononga, na Mohi.

15 I homai ano e koe he taro i te rangi mo to ratou matekai; i whakaputaina he wai i te kohatu mo to ratou matewai; i ki ano ki a ratou kia haere ki te tango i te whenua i oati ai koe ka hoatu ki a ratou.

16 Otiia ka whakakake ratou ko o matou matua, ka whakapakeke i o ratou kaki, kihai hoki i rongo ki au whakahau,

17 Kihai i whakaae kia rongo, kihai i mahara ki au merekara i mahia e koe i roto i a ratou; otiia kua pakeke o ratou kaki, whakakeke ana ratou, whakaritea ana e ratou he rangatira, kia hoki ai ratou ki ta ratou mahi pononga. Ko koe ia he Atua muru hara, he tohu tangata, he atawhai, he puhoi ki te riri, he nui te aroha, a kihai i whakarere i a ratou.

18 Ae ra, i ta ratou hanganga ano i te kuao kau, i te mea whakarewa, i ta ratou kianga, Ko tou Atua tenei i kawea mai ai koe i Ihipa, a nui atu a ratou whakapataritaringa;

19 Otiia, i te maha o au mahi aroha, kihai koe i whakarere i a ratou i te koraha; kihai ratou i mahue i te pou kapua i te awatea, hei arahi i a ratou i te ara, i te pou ahi i te po, hei whakamarama i a ratou, i te ara ano e haere ai ratou.

20 I homai ano e koe tou wairua pai hei whakaako i a ratou, kihai hoki tau mana i kaiponuhia ki o ratou mangai: i homai ano e koe he wai ki a ratou mo to ratou matewai.

21 Ae ra, e wha tekau nga tau i atawhaitia ai ratou e koe i te koraha, a kihai i hapa ki tetahi mea; kihai o ratou kakahu i tawhitotia, kihai ano o ratou waewae i pupuhi.

22 I homai ano e koe nga kingitanga me nga iwi ki a ratou, a wehewehea ana ratou ki nga wahi mo ratou: heoi kua riro i a ratou te whenua o Hehepona, me te whenua o Oka kingi o Pahana.

23 I whakanuia ano e koe a ratou tamariki kia rite ki nga whetu o te rangi, a kawea mai ana ratou ki te whenua i ki ai koe ki o ratou matua ka haere ratou ki reira tango ai.

24 Heoi haere ana nga tamariki, riro ana te whenua i a ratou, a pehia ana e koe ki to ratou aroaro nga tangata whenua, nga Kanaani, homai ana e koe ki o ratou ringa, ratou, o ratou kingi, me nga iwi o te whenua, kia meatia ki a ratou ta ratou i pai ai.

25 Na kua riro i a ratou nga pa kaha, me te oneone momona, kua whiwhi ano ki nga whare e ki tonu ana i nga mea papai katoa, ki nga poka wai kua oti te keri, ki nga mara waina, oriwa, ki nga rakau hei kai, tona tini; a kai ana ratou, ka makona, kua whai kiko, a koa ana ratou ki te nui o au mea pai.

26 Otiia ka tutu ratou, a ka whakakeke ki a koe, maka ana e ratou tau ture ki muri ki o ratou tuara, patua iho e ratou au poropiti i whakaatu tikanga nei ki a ratou, kia tahuri ai ratou ki a koe; nui atu a ratou whakapataritaringa.

27 Na reira i hoatu ai ratou e koe ki te ringa o o ratou hoariri, a whakatoia iho ratou e ratou; heoi i nga wa i mate ai ratou, ka karanga ratou ki a koe, ka whakarongo koe i te rangi, a, i te maha o au mahi aroha, homai ana e koe he kaiwhakaora ki a ratou, i ora ai ratou i te ringa o o ratou hoariri.

28 Otiia ka whai tanga manawa, nei ratou, kei te mahi ano ratou i te kino ki tou aroaro: na whakarerea atu ana ratou e koe ki te ringa o o ratou hoariri, a ko era hei rangatira mo ratou. Na, ka hoki ratou, a ka karanga ki a koe, ka whakarongo koe i te rangi; he maha nga wa i whakaorangia ai ratou e koe, rite tonu ki au mahi aroha;

29 I whakaatu tikanga ano koe ki a ratou, kia hoki ai ki tau ture; otiia whakakake ana ratou, kihai hoki i rongo ki au whakahau, na ka hara ki au whakaritenga, he mea hoki enei e ora ai te tangata, ki te mahia e ia; whakahokia ana e ratou te pokohi wi, whakapakeketia ana o ratou kaki, kihai hoki i rongo.

30 He maha ano nga tau i kukume roa ai koe ki a ratou, i whakaatu tikanga ai ki a ratou, he mea na tou wairua i roto i au poropiti: heoi kihai i tahuri o ratou taringa: na hoatu ana ratou e koe ki te ringa o nga iwi o nga whenua.

31 He nui ia no tou aroha, te whakapotoa rawatia ai ratou e koe, te whakarerea ai ratou; he Atua atawhai hoki koe, he Atua aroha.

32 Na, tena, e to matou Atua, e te Atua nui, e te Atua kaha, e wehingia ana, e pupuri nei i te kawenata, i tae mahi tohu, kei iti ki tau titiro te he katoa i pa mai nei ki a matou, ki o matou kingi, ki o matou rangatira, ki o matou tohunga, ki o ma tou poropiti, ki o matou matua, ki tau iwi katoa, o nga ra o nga kingi o Ahiria a tae noa mai ki tenei ra.

33 Otira tika tonu tau i nga mea katoa i takina mai nei ki a matou; he pono hoki tau mahi, ko ta matou ia he kino:

34 Ko o matou kingi, ko o matou rangatira, ko o matou tohunga, ko o matou matua, kihai i mahia e ratou tau ture, kihai hoki i tahuri ki au whakahau, ki au whakaatauranga i whakaaturia e koe ki a ratou.

35 Kihai ratou i mahi ki a koe i to ratou kingitanga, a i tau pai nui i homai e koe ki a ratou, me te whenua nui, whenua momona, i homai e koe ki to ratou aroaro, kihai ratou i tahuri i a ratou mahi kino.

36 Nana, he pononga matou i tenei ra; na, ko te whenua i homai nei e koe ki o matou matua, kia kainga ona hua, ona pai, nana, he pononga matou i reira.

37 Nui atu hoki ona hua ma nga kingi i meinga nei e koe hei kingi mo matou, no te mea i hara matou; kei ta ratou i pai ai te tikanga mo o matou tinana, mo a matou kararehe, a he nui atu te he i a matou nei.

38 Ahakoa tenei katoa, ka whakarite matou i te kawenata pono, tuhituhi rawa; ka hiritia iho e o matou rangatira, e o matou Riwaiti, e o matou tohunga.

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.

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.

And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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;

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:

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.