1611 Translation |
Free to Copy
|
![]() |
NEHEMIAH ยท Chapter 9
9:1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel
were assembled with fasting, and with sack clothes, and earth upon them.
9:2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers,
and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
9:3 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.
9:4 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.
9:5 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 ever: and blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted
above all blessing and praise.
9:6 You, even you, are LORD alone; you have 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 you preserve them all; and the host
of heaven worships you.
9:7 You are the LORD the God, who did choose Abram, and brought him
forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;
9:8 And found his heart faithful before you, and made 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 have performed your words; for you are righteous:
9:9 And did see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their
cry by the Red sea;
9:10 And showed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants,
and on all the people of his land: for you knew that they dealt proudly
against them. So did you get you a name, as it is this day.
9:11 And you did divide the sea before them, so that they went through
the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors you threw into
the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
9:12 Moreover you led 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.
9:13 You came down also upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from
heaven, and gave them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and
commandments:
9:14 And made known unto them your holy sabbath, and commandedst them
precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses your servant:
9:15 And gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought
forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promised them
that they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give
them.
9:16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks,
and hearkened not to your commandments,
9:17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of your wonders that
you did among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed
a captain to return to their bondage: but you are a God ready to pardon,
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook
them not.
9:18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is
your God that brought you up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
9:19 Yet you in your manifold mercies forsook 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 show them light, and the
way wherein they should go.
9:20 You gave also your good spirit to instruct them, and withheld
not your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.
9:21 Yea, forty years did you sustain them in the wilderness, so that
they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled
not.
9:22 Moreover you gave them kingdoms and nations, and did 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.
9:23 Their children also multiplied you as the stars of heaven, and
brought them into the land, concerning which you had promised to their
fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
9:24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and you subdued
before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them
into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they
might do with them as they would.
9:25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses
full of all goods, wells dug, vineyards, and olive yards, and fruit trees
in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted
themselves in your great goodness.
9:26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against you,
and cast your law behind their backs, and slew your prophets which testified
against them to turn them to you, and they wrought great provocations.
9:27 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who
vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto you,
you heard them from heaven; and according to your manifold mercies you
gave them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
9:28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before you: therefore
left you them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion
over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto you, you heard them from
heaven; and many times did you deliver them according to your mercies;
9:29 And testified against them, that you might bring them again unto
your law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto your commandments,
but sinned against your judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in
them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not
hear.
9:30 Yet many years did you forbear them, and testified against them
by your spirit in your prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore
gave you them into the hand of the people of the lands.
9:31 Nevertheless for your great mercies' sake you did not utterly
consume them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.
9:32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible
God, who keep covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before
you, that has come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests,
and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all your people, since
the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.
9:33 Nevertheless you are just in all that is brought upon us; for
you have done right, but we have done wickedly:
9:34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers,
kept your law, nor hearkened unto your commandments and your testimonies,
wherewith you did testify against them.
9:35 For they have not served you in their kingdom, and in your great
goodness that you gave them, and in the large and fat land which you gave
before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
9:36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that you gave
unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold,
we are servants in it:
9:37 And it yields much increase unto the kings whom you have 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.
9:38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it;
and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.
Free to Copy |