1 Israel Confesses Their Sins Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel gathered with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.
2 The seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 And they rose up in their place and read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God for a fourth of the day; and foranotherfourth they were confessing and worshiping Yahweh their God.
4 Then Jeshua rose up on the Levites’ platform,alongwith Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani,andChenani, and they cried out with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.
5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah,andPethahiah, said, “Rise up, bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting!O may Your glorious name be blessedAnd exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 “You alone are Yahweh.You 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.You give life to all of themAnd the heavenly host bows down to You.
7 “You are Yahweh God,Who chose AbramAnd brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees,And gave him the name Abraham.
8 “You found his heart faithful before You,And cut a covenant with himTo givehimthe land of the Canaanite,Of the Hittite and the Amorite,Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite—To giveitto his seed.And You have established Your promise,For You are righteous.
9 ¶“You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,And heard their cry by the 9:9 Lit Sea of Reeds Red Sea.
10 “Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,Against all his servants and all the people of his land;For You knew that they acted presumptuously toward them,And made a name for Yourself asit isthis day.
11 “You split the sea before them,So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land;And their pursuers You cast into the depths,Like a stone into mighty waters.
12 “And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day,And with a pillar of fire by nightTo light for them the wayIn which they were to go.
13 “Then You came down on Mount Sinai,And spoke with them from heaven;You gave them upright judgments and true laws,Good statutes and commandments.
14 “So You made known to them Your holy sabbath,And commanded to them commandments, statutes and law,By the hand of Your servant Moses.
15 “You gave bread from heaven for them for their hunger,You brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst,And You said to them to enter in order to possessThe land which You 9:15Lit lifted up Your hand swore to give them.
16 ¶“But they, our fathers, acted presumptuously;They 9:16 Lit stiffened their neck, so also v 17 became stiff-necked and would not listen to Your commandments.
17 “They refused to listen,And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You did among them;So they became stiff-necked and gavethemselvesa chief to return to their slavery 9:17As in Gr and some Heb mss; Heb in their rebellion in Egypt.But You are a God of lavish forgiveness,Gracious and compassionate,Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;And You did not forsake them.
18 “Even when they made for themselvesA molten calfAnd said, ‘This is your GodWho brought you up from Egypt,’And 9:18Lit did committed great 9:18Lit acts of contempt blasphemies,
19 But You, in Your abundant compassion,Did not forsake them in the wilderness;The pillar of cloud did not depart from them by day,To lead them on their way,Nor the pillar of fire by night,To light for them the way in which they were to go.
20 “You gave Your good Spirit to give them insight,Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,And You gave them water for their thirst.
21 “Indeed, forty years You sustained them in the wilderness,andthey did not lack;Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell.
22 “You also gave them kingdoms and peoples,And apportionedthemto them as a 9:22Lit side, corner boundary.They took possession of the land of Sihon 9:22As in Gr and Lat; Heb and the land of the king of Heshbon the king of HeshbonAnd the land of Og the king of Bashan.
23 “You made their sons numerous as the stars of heaven,And You brought them into the landWhich You had said for their fathers to enter and possess.
24 “So their sons entered and possessed the land.And You 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 according to their desire.
25 “They captured fortified cities and a 9:25Lit fat rich 9:25Or ground land.They took possession of houses full of every good thing,Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,Trees for food in abundance.So they ate, were filled, and grew fat,And reveled in Your great goodness.
26 ¶“But they became disobedient and rebelled against You,And cast Your law behind their backsAnd killed Your prophets who had testified to themSo that they might return to You,And they 9:26Lit did committed great 9:26Lit acts of contempt blasphemies.
27 “Therefore You gave them into the hand of the ones who distressed them, and they afflicted them with distress,But at the time of their distress they cried to You,And You listened from heaven, and according to Your abundant compassionYou gave them saviors and they saved them from the hand of the ones that distressed them.
28 “But as soon as they had rest, they returned to do evil before You;Therefore You forsook them in the hand of their enemies, so they had dominion over them.Then they returned and cried to You. And You listened from heaven,And many times You delivered them according to Your compassion,
29 And testified to them in order to turn them back to Your law.Yet they acted presumptuously and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your judgments,By which if a man does them, he shall live.And they gave a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen.
30 “However, You bore with them for many years,And testified to them by Your Spirit by the hand of Your prophets,Yet they would not give ear.So You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 “Nevertheless, in Your abundant compassion You did not make a complete destruction of them or forsake them,For You are a gracious and compassionate God.
32 ¶“So now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness,Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You,Which has found us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all Your people,From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.
33 “However, You are righteous in all that has come upon us;For You have dealt in truth, but we have acted wickedly.
34 “Now our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers did not do Your lawOr pay attention to Your commandments and Your testimonies with which You testified against them.
35 “But they, in their own kingdom,With Your abundant 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.
36 “Behold, we are slaves today,And as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its goodness,Behold, we are slaves in it.
37 “Its abundant produce is for the kingsWhom You have put over us because of our sins;They also rule over our bodiesAnd over our cattle according to their desire,So we are in great distress.An Agreement Is Cut
38 ¶“ 9:38Ch10:1in Heb Now because of all thisWe are cutting an agreement in writing;And on the sealed documentare the names ofour princes, our Levites,andour priests.”