Now on the twenty-fourth day
of athis
month
the sons
of Israel
assembled
bwith fasting
, in sackcloth
and with cdirt
upon them.
The 1 adescendants of Israel
separated
themselves from all
foreigners
, and stood
and bconfessed
their sins
and the iniquities
of their fathers
.
While athey stood in their place
, they read
from the book
of the law
of the LORD
their God
for a fourth
of the day
; and for another fourth
they confessed
and worshiped
the LORD
their God
.
aNow on the Levites' platform
stood
Jeshua
, Bani
, Kadmiel
, Shebaniah
, Bunni
, Sherebiah
, Bani
and Chenani
, and they cried
with a loud
voice
to the LORD
their God
.
Then the Levites, Jeshua
, Kadmiel
, Bani
, Hashabneiah
, Sherebiah
, Hodiah
, Shebaniah
and Pethahiah
, said
, "Arise
, bless
the LORD
your God
forever
and ever
! O may Your glorious
name
be blessed
And exalted
above
all
blessing
and praise
!
" aYou alone are the LORD
. bYou have made
the heavens
, The heaven
of heavens
with all
their host
, The earth
and all
that is on it, The seas
and all
that is in them. cYou give
life
to all
of them And the heavenly
host
bows
down
before You.
"You are the LORD God
, aWho
chose
Abram
And brought
him out from bUr
of the Chaldees
, And cgave
him the name
Abraham
.
"You found ahis heart
faithful
before
You, And made
a covenant
with him To give
him the land
of the Canaanite
, Of the Hittite
and the Amorite
, Of the Perizzite
, the Jebusite
and the Girgashite
-- To give
it to his 1descendants
. And You bhave fulfilled
Your promise
, For You are righteous
.
" aYou saw the affliction
of our fathers
in Egypt
, And bheard
their cry
by the 1Red
Sea
.
"Then You performed asigns
and wonders
against Pharaoh
, Against all
his servants
and all
the people
of his land
; For You knew
that bthey acted
arrogantly
toward
them, And cmade
a name
for Yourself as it is this
day
.
" aYou divided the sea
before
them, So they passed
through the midst
of the sea
on dry
ground
; And btheir pursuers
You hurled
into the depths
, Like
a stone
into 1raging
waters
.
"And with a pillar of cloud
aYou led
them by day
, And with a pillar
of fire
by night
To light
for them the way
In which
they were to go
.
"Then aYou came down
on Mount
Sinai
, And bspoke
with them from heaven
; You gave
them cjust
ordinances
and true
laws
, Good
statutes
and commandments
.
"So You made known
to them aYour holy
sabbath
, And laid
down
for them commandments
, statutes
and law
, Through
Your servant
Moses
.
"You aprovided bread
from heaven
for them for their hunger
, You bbrought
forth
water
from a rock
for them for their thirst
, And You ctold
them to enter
in order to possess
The land
which
You 1swore
to give
them.
"But they, our fathers, aacted
arrogantly
; They 1 bbecame
stubborn
and would not listen
to Your commandments
.
"They refused to listen
, And adid not remember
Your wondrous
deeds
which
You had performed
among
them; So they became
stubborn
and bappointed
a leader
to return
to their slavery
1in Egypt
. But You are a God
cof forgiveness
, Gracious
and compassionate
, Slow
to anger
and abounding
in lovingkindness
; And You did not forsake
them.
"Even when
they amade
for themselves A calf
of molten
metal
And said
, `This
is your God
Who
brought
you up from Egypt
,' And committed
great
1blasphemies
,
aYou, in Your great compassion
, Did not forsake
them in the wilderness
; bThe pillar
of cloud
did not leave
them by day
, To guide
them on their way
, Nor
the pillar
of fire
by night
, to light
for them the way
in which
they were to go
.
" aYou gave Your good
Spirit
to instruct
them, Your manna
You did not withhold
from their mouth
, And You gave
them water
for their thirst
.
"Indeed, aforty years
You provided
for them in the wilderness
and they were not in want
; Their clothes
did not wear
out, nor
did their feet
swell
.
"You also gave them kingdoms
and peoples
, And allotted
them to them as a 1boundary
. aThey took
possession
of the land
of Sihon
2the king
of Heshbon
And the land
of Og
the king
of Bashan
.
"You made their sons
numerous
as athe stars
of heaven
, And You brought
them into the land
Which
You had told
their fathers
to enter
and possess
.
" aSo their sons entered
and possessed
the land
. And bYou subdued
before
them the inhabitants
of the land
, the Canaanites
, And You gave
them into their hand
, with their kings
and the peoples
of the land
, To do
with them 1as they desired
.
" aThey captured fortified
cities
and a 1 bfertile
land
. They took
possession
of chouses
full
of every
good
thing
, Hewn
cisterns
, vineyards
, olive
groves
, Fruit
trees
in abundance
. So they ate
, were filled
and dgrew
fat
, And ereveled
in Your great
goodness
.
" aBut they became disobedient
and rebelled
against You, And bcast
Your law
behind
their backs
And ckilled
Your prophets
who
had dadmonished
them So that they might return
to You, And ethey committed
great
1blasphemies
.
"Therefore You adelivered them into the hand
of their oppressors
who oppressed
them, But when they cried
to You bin the time
of their distress
, You heard
from heaven
, and according to Your great
compassion
You cgave
them deliverers
who delivered
them from the hand
of their oppressors
.
"But aas soon as they had rest
, they did
evil
again
before
You; Therefore You abandoned
them to the hand
of their enemies
, so that they ruled
over them. When they cried
again
to You, You heard
from heaven
, And bmany
times
You rescued
them according to Your compassion
,
And aadmonished them in order to turn
them back
to Your law
. Yet bthey acted
arrogantly
and did not listen
to Your commandments
but sinned
against Your ordinances
, By cwhich
if a man
observes
them he shall live
. And they 1 dturned
a stubborn
shoulder
and stiffened
their neck
, and would not listen
.
" aHowever, You bore with them for many
years
, And badmonished
them by cYour Spirit
through
Your prophets
, Yet they would not give
ear
. Therefore You gave
them into the hand
of the peoples
of the lands
.
"Nevertheless, in Your great compassion
You adid not make
an end
of them or forsake
them, For You are ba gracious
and compassionate
God
.
"Now therefore, our God
, athe great
, the mighty
, and the awesome
God
, who keeps
covenant
and lovingkindness
, Do not let all
the hardship
seem
insignificant
before
You, Which
has come
upon us, our kings
, our princes
, our priests
, our prophets
, our fathers
and on all
Your people
, bFrom the days
of the kings
of Assyria
to this
day
.
"However, aYou are just in all
that has come
upon us; For You have dealt
faithfully
, but we have acted
wickedly
.
"For our kings, our leaders
, our priests
and our fathers
have not kept
Your law
Or paid
attention
to Your commandments
and Your 1admonitions
with which
You have 2admonished
them.
"But athey, in their own kingdom, bWith Your great
goodness
which
You gave
them, With the broad
and rich
land
which
You set
before
them, Did not serve
You or turn
from their evil
deeds
.
"Behold, awe are slaves
today
, And as to the land
which
You gave
to our fathers
to eat
of its fruit
and its bounty
, Behold
, we are slaves
in it.
" aIts abundant produce
is for the kings
Whom
You have set
over
us because of our sins
; They also rule
over
our bodies
And over our cattle
as they please
, So we are in great
distress
.
" 1Now because of all this
aWe are making
an agreement
in writing
; And on the bsealed
document are the names of our leaders
, our Levites
and our priests
."