Nehemiah 9:1-37

Nehemiah 9:1-37

[1] Now in the twenty  and fourth  day  of this month  the children  of Israel  were assembled  with fasting,  and with sackclothes,  and earth  [2] And the seed  of Israel  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 law  of the LORD  their God  one fourth part  of the day;  and another fourth part  they confessed,  and worshipped  the LORD  their God.  [4] 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.  [5] 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 blessed  be thy glorious  name,  which is exalted  above all blessing  and praise.  [6] Thou, even thou, art LORD  alone; thou hast made  heaven,  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. [7] 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;  [8] 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:  [9] 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  [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  [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  [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  [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,  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,  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 hand  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  [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.