Now in the twenty and fourth
day
of this month
the children
of Israel
were assembled
with fasting
, and with sackclothes
, and earth
upon them.
And the seed of Israel
separated
themselves from all strangers
, and stood
and confessed
their sins
, and the iniquities
of their fathers
.
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
.
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
.
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 ever
: and blessed
be thy glorious
name
, which is exalted
above all blessing
and praise
.
Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast 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 thou preservest
them all; and the host
of heaven
worshippeth
thee.
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
;
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
:
And didst see the affliction
of our fathers
in Egypt
, and heardest
their cry
by the Red
sea
;
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
.
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
.
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
wherein they should go
.
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
:
And madest known unto them thy holy
sabbath
, and commandedst
them precepts
, statutes
, and laws
, by the hand
of Moses
thy servant
:
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.
But they and our fathers dealt proudly
, and hardened
their necks
, and hearkened
not to thy commandments
,
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.
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
;
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
wherein they should go
.
Thou gavest also thy good
spirit
to instruct
them, and withheldest
not thy manna
from their mouth
, and gavest
them water
for their thirst
.
Yea, forty years
didst thou sustain
them in the wilderness
, so that they lacked
nothing; their clothes
waxed not old
, and their feet
swelled
not.
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
.
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
it .
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
.
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
.
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
.
Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand
of their enemies
, who vexed
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
, who saved
them out of the hand
of their enemies
.
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
;
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
.
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
.
Nevertheless for thy great mercies
' sake thou didst
not utterly consume
them, nor forsake
them; for thou art a gracious
and merciful
God
.
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
.
Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought
upon us; for thou hast done
right
, but we have done wickedly
:
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.
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
.
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
in it:
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
.
And because of all this we make a sure
covenant , and write
it ; and our princes
, Levites
, and priests
, seal
unto it .