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National Confession

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth upon their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; for another fourth of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. Upon the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kad′mi-el, Shebani′ah, Bunni, Sherebi′ah, Bani, and Chena′ni; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kad′miel, Bani, Hashabnei′ah, Sherebi′ah, Hodi′ah, Shebani′ah, and Pethahi′ah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”

And Ezra said:[a] “Thou art the Lord, thou alone; thou hast 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; and thou preservest all of them; and the host of heaven worships thee. Thou art the Lord, the God who didst choose Abram and bring him forth out of Ur of the Chalde′ans and give him the name Abraham; and thou didst find his heart faithful before thee, and didst make with him the covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Per′izzite, the Jeb′usite, and the Gir′gashite; and thou hast fulfilled thy promise, for thou art righteous.

“And thou didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and hear their cry at the Red Sea, 10 and didst perform signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for thou knewest that they acted insolently against our fathers; and thou didst get thee a name, as it is to this day. 11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land; and thou didst cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. 12 By a pillar of cloud thou didst lead them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. 13 Thou didst come down upon Mount Sinai, and speak with them from heaven and give them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and thou didst make known to them thy holy sabbath and command them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses thy servant. 15 Thou didst give them bread from heaven for their hunger and bring forth water for them from the rock for their thirst, and thou didst tell them to go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

16 “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey thy commandments; 17 they refused to obey, and were not mindful of the wonders which thou didst perform among them; but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. But thou art a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and didst not forsake them. 18 Even when they had made for themselves a molten calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, 19 thou in thy great mercies didst not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud which led them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night which lighted for them the way by which they should go. 20 Thou gavest thy good Spirit to instruct them, and didst not withhold thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. 22 And thou didst give them kingdoms and peoples, and didst allot to them every corner; so they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 Thou didst multiply their descendants as the stars of heaven, and thou didst bring them into the land which thou hadst told their fathers to enter and possess. 24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and thou didst subdue before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and didst give them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25 And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance; so they ate, 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 back and killed thy prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to thee, and they committed great blasphemies. 27 Therefore thou didst give them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer; and in the time of their suffering they cried to thee and thou didst hear them from heaven; and according to thy great mercies thou didst give them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest they did evil again before thee, and thou didst abandon them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they turned and cried to thee thou didst hear from heaven, and many times thou didst deliver them according to thy mercies. 29 And thou didst warn them in order to turn them back to thy law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey thy commandments, but sinned against thy ordinances, by the observance of which a man shall live, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. 30 Many years thou didst bear with them, and didst warn them by thy Spirit through thy prophets; yet they would not give ear. Therefore thou didst give them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless in thy great mercies thou didst not make an end of them or forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

32 “Now therefore, our God, the great and mighty and terrible God, who keepest covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to thee that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 Yet thou hast been just in all that has come upon us, for thou hast dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly; 34 our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept thy law or heeded thy commandments and thy warnings which thou didst give them. 35 They did not serve thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness which thou gavest them, and in the large and rich land which thou didst set before them; and they did not turn from their wicked works. 36 Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that thou gavest to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. 37 And its rich yield goes to the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.”

Those Who Signed the Covenant

38 [b] Because of all this we make a firm covenant and write it, and our princes, our Levites, and our priests set their seal to it.

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 9:6 Gk: Heb lacks and Ezra said
  2. Nehemiah 9:38 Ch 10.1 in Heb

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.