Nehemiah 9

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites, in sackcloth and with dust on their heads,assembled for a fast.	1 Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the sons of Israel came together in fasting and in sackcloth, and with soil upon them.
2 Then those of Israelite stock who had severed relations with al foreigners stood up and confessed theirsins and the iniquities of their ancestors.	2 And the offspring of the sons of Israel were separated from all the sons of foreigners. And they stood up, and they confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 Standing, each man in his place, they read from the Book of the Law of Yahweh their God for onequarter of the day; for another quarter they confessed their sins and worshipped Yahweh their God.	3 And they arose to stand. And they read in the volume of the law of the Lord their God, four times in the day, and four times they confessed. And they adored the Lord their God.
4 On the Levites' platform stood Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani andChenani, cal ing to Yahweh their God in ringing tones.	4 Then, upon the step of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, and Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani rose up. And they cried out in a great voice to the Lord their God.
5 The Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah said,'Stand up and bless Yahweh your God! 'Blessed are you, Yahweh our God from everlasting to everlasting, andblessed be your glorious name, surpassing al blessing and praise!	5 And the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bunni, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said: “Rise up. Bless the Lord your God, from eternity even to eternity! And blessed be the exalted name of your glory, with all blessing and praise.
6 'You, Yahweh, are the one, only Yahweh, you have created the heavens, the heaven of heavens andal their array, the earth and al it bears, the seas and all they hold. To al of them you give life, and the array ofheaven worships you.	6 You yourself alone, O Lord, made heaven, and the heaven of the heavens, and all their host, the earth and all things that are in it, the seas and all things that are in them. And you gave life to all these things. And the host of heaven adores you.
7 'You are Yahweh God, who chose Abram, brought him out of Ur in Chaldaea and changed his name toAbraham.	7 You yourself, O Lord God, are the One who chose Abram. And you led him away from the fire of the Chaldeans, and you gave him the name Abraham.
8 Finding his heart was faithful to you, you made a covenant with him, to give the country of theCanaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites and the Girgashites to him and hisdescendants. And you have made good your promises, for you are upright.	8 And you found his heart to be faithful before you. And you formed a covenant with him, so that you might give to him the land of the Canaanite, of the Hittite, and of the Amorite, and of the Perizzite, and of the Jebusite, and of the Girgashite, so that you might give it to his offspring. And you have fulfilled your words, for you are just.
9 'You saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt, you heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds.	9 And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt. And you heard their outcry beside the Red Sea.
10 You displayed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against al his servants and al the people of hisland; for you knew how arrogantly they treated them. You won a reputation which you keep to this day.	10 And you gave signs and portents to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to the people of his land. For you knew that they acted arrogantly against them. And you made a name for yourself, just as it is in this day.
11 You opened up the sea in front of them: they walked on dry ground right through the sea. Into thedepths you hurled their pursuers like a stone into the raging waters.	11 And you divided the sea before them, and they crossed through the midst of the sea on dry land. But their pursuers you cast into the depths, like a stone into great waters.
12 With a pillar of cloud you led them by day, with a pil ar of fire by night: to light the way ahead of themby which they were to go.	12 And in the pillar of cloud, you were their leader by day, and in the pillar of fire, by night, so that they might see the way along which they might advance.
13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven; you gave them right rules, reliablelaws, good statutes and commandments;	13 You also descended to mount Sinai, and you spoke with them from heaven. And you gave them upright judgments, and the law of truth, and ceremonies, and good precepts.
14 you revealed your holy Sabbath to them; you laid down commandments, statutes and law for themthrough your servant Moses.	14 You revealed to them your sanctified Sabbath, and you instructed them in commandments, and ceremonies, and the law, by the hand of Moses, your servant.
15 For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven, for their thirst you brought them water out of arock, and you told them to go in and take possession of the country which you had sworn to give them.	15 You also gave them bread from heaven in their hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their thirst. And you said to them that they should enter and possess the land, over which you lifted up your hand so that you might give it to them.
16 'But they and our ancestors acted arrogantly, grew obstinate and flouted your commands.	16 Yet truly, they and our fathers acted arrogantly, and they hardened their necks, and they did not listen to your commandments.
17 They refused to obey, forgetful of the wonders which you had worked for them; they grew obstinateand made up their minds to return to their slavery in Egypt. But because you are a forgiving God, gracious andcompassionate, patient and rich in faithful love, you did not abandon them!	17 And they were not willing to hear, and they did not remember, your miracles which you had accomplished for them. And they hardened their necks, and they offered their head, so that they would return to their servitude, as if in contention. But you, a forgiving God, lenient and merciful, longsuffering and full of compassion, did not abandon them.
18 'Even when they cast themselves a calf out of molten metal and said, "This is your God who brought you up from Egypt!" and committed monstrous impieties,	18 Indeed, even when they had made for themselves a molten calf, and they had said, ‘This is your God, who led you away from Egypt!’ and had committed great blasphemies,
19 you, in your great compassion, did not abandon them in the desert: the pillar of cloud did not leavethem, leading them on their path by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, lighting the way ahead of them by whichthey were to go.	19 even so, in the multitude of your mercies, you did not send them away in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not withdraw from them by day, so that it might lead them on the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, so that it might show them the way along which they might advance.
20 You gave them your good spirit to instruct them, you did not withhold your manna from their mouths,you gave them water for their thirst.	20 And you gave them your good Spirit, so that he might teach them, and you did not withhold your manna from their mouth, and you gave them water in their thirst.
21 For forty years you cared for them in the desert, so that they went short of nothing, their clothes didnot wear out, nor were their feet swol en.	21 For forty years, you fed them in the desert, and nothing was lacking to them; their garments did not grow old, and their feet were not worn down.
22 'You gave them kingdoms and peoples, al otting them these as frontier lands; they occupied thecountry of Sihon king of Heshbon, and the country of Og king of Bashan.	22 And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you distributed to them by lot. And they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan.
23 You gave them as many children as there are stars in the sky, and brought them into the countrywhich you had promised their ancestors that they would enter and possess.	23 And you multiplied their sons like the stars of heaven. And you led them into the land, about which you had said to their fathers that they would enter and possess it.
24 The children entered and took possession of the country and before them you subdued the country'sinhabitants, the Canaanites, whom you put at their mercy, with their kings and the peoples of the country, forthem to treat as they pleased;	24 And the sons arrived and possessed the land. And you humbled the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, before them. And you delivered them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, so that they might do with them just as it was pleasing to them.
25 they captured fortified towns and a fertile countryside, they took possession of houses stocked with alkinds of goods, of storage-wel s ready-hewn, of vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in profusion; so they ate,were ful , grew fat and revelled in your great goodness.	25 And so they seized fortified cities and fat soil. And they possessed houses filled with all kinds of goods, cisterns made by others, vineyards, and olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate and were satisfied. And they were fattened, and they abounded with delights from your great goodness.
26 'But they grew disobedient, rebelled against you and thrust your law behind their backs; theyslaughtered your prophets who had reproved them to bring them back to you, and committed monstrousimpieties.	26 But they provoked you to wrath, and they withdrew from you, and they cast your law behind their backs. And they killed your prophets, who contended with them so that they might return to you. And they committed great blasphemies.
27 So you put them at the mercy of their enemies who oppressed them. But when they were beingoppressed and cal ed to you, you heard them from heaven and because of your great compassion you gavethem deliverers who rescued them from their oppressors' clutches.	27 And so you gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they afflicted them. And in the time of their tribulation, they cried out to you, and from heaven you heard them. And in accord with your great compassion, you gave to them saviors, who might save them from the hand of their enemies.
28 But once at peace again, again they did what was wrong before you; so you put them at the mercy oftheir enemies who then became their rulers. When they cal ed to you again, you heard them from heaven and,because of your compassion, rescued them many times.	28 But after they had rested, they turned back, so that they did evil in your sight. And you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, and they possessed them. And they converted, and they cried out to you. And from heaven you heeded them, and you freed them many times, by your mercies.
29 You warned them, to bring them back to your law, but they became arrogant, did not obey yourcommandments and sinned against your rules, in whose observance is life; they turned a stubborn shoulder,were obstinate, and disobeyed.	29 And you contended with them, so that they might return to your law. Yet truly, they acted in arrogance, and they did not listen to your commandments, and they sinned against your judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they withdrew from offering their shoulder, and they hardened their neck; neither would they listen.
30 You were patient with them for many years and warned them by your spirit through your prophets, butthey would not listen; so you put them at the mercy of the people of the country.	30 And you continued to forbear them for many years. And you contended with them by your Spirit, through the hand of your prophets. And they did not listen, and so you delivered them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 But, because of your great compassion, you did not destroy them completely nor abandon them, foryou are a gracious, compassionate God.	31 Yet in your very many mercies, you did not cause them to be consumed, nor did you abandon them. For you are a compassionate and lenient God.
32 Now, our God -- the great God, the Mighty and Awe-inspiring One, maintaining the covenant and yourfaithful love- count as no small thing this misery which has befal en us, our kings, our princes, our priests, ourprophets, and al your people from the times of the Assyrian kings to the present day.	32 Now therefore, our great God, strong and terrible, who keeps covenant and mercy, may you not avert your face from all the hardship that has found us, we and our kings, and our leaders, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and all the people, from the days of king Assur, even to this day.
33 You have been upright in al that has happened to us, for you acted faithful y, while we did wrong.	33 For you are just, concerning all things that have overwhelmed us. For you have done truth, but we have acted impiously.
34 Our kings, our princes, our priests and our ancestors did not keep your law or pay attention to yourcommandments and obligations which you imposed upon them.	34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our fathers have not done your law, and they have not been attentive to your commandments and your testimonies, to which you have testified among them.
35 Even in their own kingdom, despite your great goodness which you bestowed on them, despite thewide and fertile country which you had lavished on them, they did not serve you or renounce their evil deeds.	35 And they have not served you, in their kingdoms and with your many good things, which you gave to them, and in the very wide and fat land, which you delivered into their sight, nor did they return from their most wicked pursuits.
36 See, we are slaves today, slaves in the country which you gave to our ancestors for them to eat thegood things it produces.	36 Behold, we ourselves this day are servants. And the land, which you gave to our fathers so that they might eat its bread and have its good things, we ourselves are servants within it.
37 Its abundant produce goes to the kings whom, for our sins, you have set over us, who rule over ourpersons and over our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.'	37 And its fruits are multiplied for the kings, whom you have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies, and over our cattle, according to their will. And we are in great tribulation.
	38 Therefore, concerning all of these things, we ourselves are forming and writing a covenant, and our leaders, our Levites, and our priests are signing it.”