2 Esdras (Nehemias) 9
9
1And in the four and twentieth day of the month the children of Israel came together with fasting and with sackcloth, and earth upon them.
2And the seed of the children of Israel separated themselves from every stranger: and they stood, and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
3And they rose up to stand: and they read in the book of the law of the Lord their God, four times in the day. And four times they confessed, and adored the Lord their God.
4And there stood up upon the step of the Levites, Josue, and Bani, and Cedmihel, Sabania, Bonni, Sarebias, Bani, and Chanani: and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.
5And the Levites, Josue and Cedmihel, Bonni, Hasebnia, Serebia, Oduia, Sebnia, and Phathahia, said: Arise, bless the Lord your God from eternity to eternity: and blessed be the high name of thy glory with all blessing and praise.
6Thou thyself, O Lord alone, thou hast made heaven, and the heaven of heavens, and all the host thereof: the earth and all things that are in it: the seas and all that are therein. And thou givest life to all these things, and the host of heaven adoreth thee.
7Thou, O Lord God, art he who chosest Abram, and broughtest him forth out of the fire of the Chaldeans, and gavest him the name of Abraham.
8And thou didst find his heart faithful before thee. And thou madest a covenant with him, to give him the land of the Chanaanite, of the Hethite, and of the Amorrhite, and of the Pherezite, and of the Jebusite, and of the Gergezite, to give it to his seed. And thou hast fulfilled thy words, because thou art just.
9And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt: and thou didst hear their cry by the Red Sea.
10And thou shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharao, and upon all his servants, and upon the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. And thou madest thyself a name, as it is at this day.
11And thou didst divide the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land: but their persecutors thou threwest into the depth, as a stone into mighty waters.
12And in a pillar of a cloud thou wast their leader by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, that they might see the way by which they went.
13Thou camest down also to mount Sinai, and didst speak with them from heaven: and thou gavest them right judgments, and the law of truth, ceremonies, and good precepts.
14Thou madest known to them thy holy sabbath, and didst prescribe to them commandments, and ceremonies, and the law, by the hand of Moses thy servant.
15And thou gavest them bread from heaven in their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock in their thirst. And thou saidst to them that they should go in, and possess the land, upon which thou hadst lifted up thy hand to give it them.
16But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments.
17And they would not hear, and they remembered not thy wonders which thou hadst done for them. And they hardened their necks, and gave the head to return to their bondage, as it were by contention. But thou, a forgiving God, gracious, and merciful, long-suffering, and full of compassion, didst not forsake them.
18Yea, when they had made also to themselves a molten calf, and had said: This is thy God, that brought thee out of Egypt; and had committed great blasphemies.
19Yet thou, in thy many mercies, didst not leave them in the desert. The pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them in the way, and the pillar of fire by night to shew them the way by which they should go.
20And thou gavest them thy good Spirit to teach them; and thy manna thou didst not withhold from their mouth; and thou gavest them water for their thirst.
21Forty years didst thou feed them in the desert, and nothing was wanting to them: their garments did not grow old, and their feet were not worn.
22And thou gavest them kingdoms, and nations, and didst divide lots for them. And they possessed the land of Sehon, and the land of the king of Hesebon, and the land of Og king of Basan.
23And thou didst multiply their children as the stars of heaven: and broughtest them to the land concerning which thou hadst said to their fathers, that they should go in and possess it.
24And the children came and possessed the land: and thou didst humble before them the inhabitants of the land, the Chanaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as it pleased them.
25And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods: cisterns made by others, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate, and were filled, and became fat, and abounded with delight in thy great goodness.
26But they provoked thee to wrath, and departed from thee, and threw thy law behind their backs. And they killed thy prophets, who admonished them earnestly to return to thee. And they were guilty of great blasphemies.
27And thou gavest them into the hands of their enemies, and they afflicted them. And in the time of their tribulation they cried to thee; and thou heardest from heaven. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies thou gavest them saviours, to save them from the hands of their enemies.
28But after they had rest, they returned to do evil in thy sight: and thou leftest them in the hand of their enemies, and they had dominion over them. Then they returned, and cried to thee: and thou heardest from heaven, and deliveredst them many times in thy mercies.
29And thou didst admonish them to return to thy law. But they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them. And they withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
30And thou didst forbear with them for many years, and didst testify against them by thy spirit, by the hand of thy prophets. And they heard not, and thou didst deliver them into the hand of the people of the lands.
31Yet in thy very many mercies thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them: because thou art a merciful and gracious God.
32Now therefore our God, great, strong and terrible, who keepest covenant and mercy, turn not away from thy face all the labour which hath come upon us: upon our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and all the people from the days of the king of Assur, until this day.
33And thou art just in all things that have come upon us: because thou hast done truth, but we have done wickedly.
34Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept thy law, and have not minded thy commandments, and thy testimonies which thou hast testified among them.
35And they have not served thee in their kingdoms, and in thy manifold goodness, which thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land, which thou deliveredst before them: nor did they return from their most wicked devices.
36Behold, we ourselves this day are bondmen: and the land, which thou gavest our fathers, to eat the bread thereof, and the good things thereof; and we ourselves are servants in it.
37And the fruits thereof grow up for the kings, whom thou hast set over us for our sins; and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our beasts, according to their will; and we are in great tribulation.
38And because of all this we ourselves make a covenant, and write it: and our princes, our Levites, and our priests sign it.
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2 Esdras (Nehemias) 9: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Nehemiah 9
9
National Confession of Sin
1On the twenty-fourth day of this month # Neh 7:73; 8:2 the Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads. # 1Sm 4:12; Neh 1:4; Dn 9:3 2Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, # Ezr 6:21; 10:11; Neh 13:3 and they stood # Neh 8:5 and confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers. # Neh 1:6; Dn 9:4,20 3While they stood in their places, # Neh 8:5,7 they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day # Neh 8:3 in confession # Neh 1:6 and worship of the Lord their God. 4Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levites # Neh 8:4 and cried out loudly to the Lord their God. 5Then the Levites — Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah # Neh 8:7 — said, “Stand up. Praise Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting.” # 1Ch 16:36; Ps 41:13; 106:48
Praise Your glorious name, # 1Ch 29:13
and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
6You # LXX reads And Ezra said: You alone are Yahweh. # Dt 6:4
You created the heavens,
the highest heavens with all their host,
the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to all of them, # 2Kg 19:15
and the heavenly host worships You. # Ps 89:5-7; Lk 2:13
7You are Yahweh,
the God who chose Abram
and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, # Gn 11:28,31
and changed his name to Abraham. # Gn 17:5
8You found his heart faithful in Your sight, # Gn 15:6; 22:15-18
and made a covenant with him
to give the land of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,
Jebusites, and Girgashites —
to give it to his descendants. # Gn 15:18-21
You have kept Your promise,
for You are righteous.
9You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egypt # Ex 3:7; 14:10-14,31
and heard their cry at the Red Sea.
10You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
all his officials, and all the people of his land, # Ex 3:20; 10:1
for You knew how arrogantly they treated our ancestors.
You made a name for Yourself
that endures to this day.
11You divided the sea before them,
and they crossed through it on dry ground. # Ex 14:21-22
You hurled their pursuers into the depths
like a stone into churning waters. # Ex 14:26-28
12You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,
and with a pillar of fire by night,
to illuminate the way they should go. # Dt 1:32-33
13You came down on Mount Sinai, # Ex 19:20
and spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions,
and good statutes and commands.
14You revealed Your holy Sabbath to them,
and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction
through Your servant Moses. # Ex 20:1-17
15You provided bread from heaven # Ex 16:4 for their hunger;
You brought them water from the rock # Ex 17:6 for their thirst.
You told them to go in and possess the land
You had sworn # Lit lifted Your hand to give them. # Dt 1:8,21
16But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
17They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them. # Dt 1:26-33
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt. # Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read in their rebellion # Nm 14:4
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love, # Ex 34:6; Ps 86:15; 103:8
and You did not abandon them.
18Even after they had cast an image of a calf
for themselves and said,
“This is your God who brought you out of Egypt,” # Ex 32:4
and they had committed terrible blasphemies,
19You did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of Your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go. # Ex 16:4; 17:6
20You sent Your good Spirit # Nm 11:17; Neh 9:30 to instruct them.
You did not withhold Your manna # Ex 16:14-15 from their mouths,
and You gave them water for their thirst. # Ex 17:6
21You provided for them in the wilderness 40 years # Dt 2:7; 29:5
and they lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out,
and their feet did not swell. # Dt 8:4
22You gave them kingdoms and peoples
and assigned them to be a boundary.
They took possession
of the land of Sihon # One Hb ms, LXX; other Hb mss, Vg read Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon
and of the land of Og king of Bashan. # Nm 21:21-35
23You multiplied their descendants
like the stars of heaven # Gn 15:5; 22:17
and brought them to the land
You told their ancestors to go in and take possession of it.
24So their descendants went in and possessed the land:
You subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land before them
and handed their kings and the surrounding peoples over to them, # Jos 11:23
to do as they pleased with them.
25They captured fortified cities and fertile land
and took possession of well-supplied houses,
cisterns cut out of rock, vineyards,
olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. # Dt 6:11; 11:11-12
They ate, were filled,
became prosperous, and delighted in Your great goodness.
26But they were disobedient and rebelled against You.
They flung Your law behind their backs # 1Kg 14:9
and killed Your prophets # 1Kg 18:4; 19:10
who warned them
in order to turn them back to You.
They committed terrible blasphemies.
27So You handed them over to their enemies,
who oppressed them.
In their time of distress, they cried out to You,
and You heard from heaven.
In Your abundant compassion
You gave them deliverers, who rescued them
from the power of their enemies.
28But as soon as they had relief,
they again did what was evil in Your sight.
So You abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who dominated them.
When they cried out to You again,
You heard from heaven and rescued them
many times in Your compassion. # Jdg 2:6–3:6
29You warned them to turn back to Your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey Your commands.
They sinned against Your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them. # Lv 18:5; Dt 30:16
They stubbornly resisted, # Lit They gave a stubborn shoulder
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
30You were patient with them for many years,
and Your Spirit warned them through Your prophets, # 2Kg 17:13-18; Neh 9:20; Dn 9:6; 1Pt 1:10-12
but they would not listen.
Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples. # Jr 16:10-13
31However, in Your abundant compassion,
You did not destroy them or abandon them, # Jr 4:27
for You are a gracious and compassionate God. # Neh 9:17
32So now, our God — the great, mighty,
and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant # Neh 1:5; Dn 9:4 —
do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,
our kings and leaders,
our priests and prophets,
our ancestors and all Your people,
from the days of the Assyrian kings # 2Kg 15:19; 17:3-6 until today.
33You are righteous concerning all that has come on us,
because You have acted faithfully,
while we have acted wickedly. # Dn 9:7-8,14
34Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors
did not obey Your law
or listen to Your commands
and warnings You gave them.
35When they were in their kingdom,
with Your abundant goodness that You gave them,
and in the spacious and fertile land You set before them, # Neh 9:25
they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
36Here we are today,
slaves in the land You gave our ancestors
so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.
Here we are — slaves in it! # Dt 28:47-48
37Its abundant harvest goes to the kings
You have set over us,
because of our sins.
They rule over our bodies
and our livestock as they please. # Dt 28:33,51
We are in great distress.
Israel’s Vow of Faithfulness
38 # Neh 10:1 in HbIn view of all this, we are making a binding agreement # 2Ch 23:16 in writing on a sealed document containing the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests. # Neh 10:1-39
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