Nehemiah 9

1 Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Yisrael were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.

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

3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the Book of the Torah of יהוה their God (Elohim) one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped יהוה their God (Elohim).

4 Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites (Lewiyim), Joshua (Yeshua), and Bani, Kadmiel, Shevanyah, Bunni, Sherevyah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto יהוה their God (Elohim).

5 Then the Levites (Lewiyim), Joshua (Yeshua), and Kadmiel, Bani, Chashavneyah, Sherevyah, Hodiyah, Shevanyah, and Petachyah, said, “Stand up and bless יהוה your God (Elohim) forever and ever; and blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

6 You, even You, art יהוה alone; You have 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 You preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth You.

7 You are יהוה the God (Elohim), who didst choose Avram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Avraham;

8 And foundest his heart faithful before You, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Yevusis, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed Your words, for You are righteous.

9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt (Mitsrayim), and heardest their cry by the Red sea;

10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh (Paroh), and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land; for You knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst You get Yourself a name, as it is this day.

11 And You didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors You threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

12 Moreover You 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 You camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true teachings (torot), good statutes and commandments;

14 And madest known unto them Your holy Shabbat, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and Torah, by the hand of Moses (Mosheh) Your 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 You hadst sworn to give them.

16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to Your commandments,

17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of Your wonders that You didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondag. But You are a God (Eloah) 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 your God (Elohim) that brought you up out of Egypt (Mitsrayim)’, and had wrought great provocations;

19 Yet You in Your 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 You gavest also Your good Spirit (Ruach) to instruct them, and withheldest not Your manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.

21 Yea, forty years didst You sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

22 Moreover You 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 You as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which You hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and you 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 Your great goodness.

26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against You, and cast Your Torah behind their backs, and slew Your prophets which testified against them to turn them to You, and they wrought great provocations.

27 Therefore You deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them; and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto You, You heardest them from heaven; and according to Your manifold mercies You gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before You; therefore leftest You them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned, and cried unto You, You heardest them from heaven; and many times didst You deliver them according to Your mercies;

29 And testifiedst against them, that You mightest bring them again unto Your Torah; yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments, (which if a man does, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

30 Yet many years didst You forbear them, and testifiedst against them by Your Spirit (Ruach) in Your prophets; yet would they not give ear; therefore gavest You them into the hand of the people of the lands.

31 Nevertheless for Your great mercies’ sake You didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for You are a gracious and merciful God (Elohim).

32 Now therefore, our God (Elohim), the great, the mighty, and the awesome God (El), who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before You, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests (kohanim), and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all Your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria (Ashshur) unto this day.

33 Howbeit You are just in all that is brought upon us, for You have done right, but we have done wickedly.

34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests (kohanim), nor our fathers, kept Your Torah, nor hearkened unto Your commandments and Your testimonies, wherewith You didst testify against them.

35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, and in Your great goodness that You gavest them, and in the large and fat land which You gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.

36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that You 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 you have 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 (Lewiyim), and priests (kohanim), seal unto it.”