Nehemiah 9:6-38
[6] “You
are יהוה, You alone.
You have made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, with all their host, the
earth and all that are on it, the seas and all that are in them, and You give
life to them all. And the host of the heavens are bowing themselves to You.
[7] “You are יהוה,
the Elohim who chose Aḇram,
and brought him out of Ur
of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Aḇraham,
[8] and found his
heart trustworthy before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of
the Kenaʽanites, the Ḥittites, the Amorites, and the
Perizzites, and the Yeḇusites,
and the Girgashites – to give it to his seed. And You have established Your
words, for You are righteous,
[9] and saw the affliction
of our fathers in Mitsrayim, and heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds,
[10] and gave signs
and wonders against Pharaoh, and against all his servants, and against all the
people of his land. For You knew that they acted proudly against them. And You
made a Name for Yourself, as it is this day.
[11] “And You split
the sea before them, and they passed over into the midst of the sea on the dry
land. And their pursuers You threw into the deep as a stone into the mighty
waters.
[12] “And You led them
by day with a cloudy column, and by night with a column of fire, to give them
light in the way they were to go.
[13] “And You came
down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from
the heavens, and gave them straight right-rulings and Torah
of truth1, good laws and commands. Footnote:
1Traditionally rendered laws of truth, of which we also read
in Mal. 2:6, while it is rendered in Rom. 2:20 as the truth in the law.
[14] “And You made
known to them Your set-apart Sabbath, and You commanded them commands and laws
and Torot1 , by the hand of Mosheh
Your servant. Footnote: 1Torot - plural of
Torah - teaching.
[15] “And You gave
them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and brought them water out of the
rock for their thirst, and said to them to go in to possess the land which You
had sworn to give them.
[16] “But they and our
fathers acted proudly, and hardened their necks, and did not obey Your
commands.
[17] “And they refused
to obey, and they remembered not Your wonders that You did among them, and
hardened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return
to their bondage. But You are a forgiving Eloah, showing favour, and
compassionate, patient, and of great kindness, and did not forsake them.
[18] “Even when they
made a moulded calf for themselves, and said, ‘This is your mighty one that
brought you up out of Mitsrayim,’ and worked great blasphemies,
[19] yet You, in Your
great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness. The column of the
cloud did not turn away from them by day to lead them on the way, nor the
column of fire by night to give them light in the way they were to go.
[20] “You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them1, and
did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.
Footnote: 1Prov. 1:23, Ezek. 36:27, Zech.
7:12.
[21] “And for forty
years You sustained them in the wilderness – they lacked not. Their garments
did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
[22] “And You gave
them reigns and peoples, and apportioned them their lot. So they took
possession of the land of Siḥon,
and the land of the sovereign of Ḥeshbon,
and the land of Oḡ sovereign
of Bashan.
[23] “And You
increased their children as the stars of the heavens, and brought them into the
land which You had said to their fathers to go in and possess.
[24] “So the sons went
in and possessed the land, and You humbled before them the people of the land,
the Kenaʽanites, and gave them into their
hands, with their sovereigns and the people of the land, to do with them as
they desired.
[25] “And they
captured walled cities and a rich land, and possessed houses filled with all
good, cisterns already dug, vineyards, and olive-trees, and fruit trees, in
plenty. So they ate and were satisfied and grew fat, and delighted themselves
in Your great goodness.
[26] “But they became
disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your Torah behind their backs.
And they slew Your prophets who had warned them, to bring them back to
Yourself. And they worked great blasphemies.
[27] “Therefore You
gave them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them. And in the time
of their distress, when they cried to You, You heard from the heavens. And
according to Your great compassion You gave them saviours who saved them from
the hand of their enemies.
[28] “But after they
had rest, they turned back to do evil before You. Then You left them in the
hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them. But when they turned back
and cried out to You, You heard from the heavens, and delivered them according
to Your compassion, many times,
[29] and warned them,
to bring them back to Your Torah. But they acted proudly, and did not obey Your
commands, and sinned against Your right-rulings, ‘which if a man does, he shall live1 by them.’ And they gave the
rebellious shoulder and hardened their necks, and would not hear. Footnote: 1Lev. 18:5, Mt. 19:17, Lk. 10:28 &
John 12:50.
[30] “And You had
patience with them for many years, and did warn them by Your Spirit, by the
hand of Your prophets, yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them
into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
[31] “But in Your
great compassion You did not make an end of them nor forsake them, for You are
an Ěl of favour and compassion.
[32] “And now, our
Elohim, the great, the mighty, and awesome Ěl, guarding the covenant and the
kindness, let not all the trouble that has come upon us, our sovereigns and our
heads, our priests and our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people, from
the days of the sovereigns of Ashshur until this day, seem little before You.
[33] “And in all that
has come upon us You are righteous, for You have done truth, but we have done wrong.
[34] “And our
sovereigns, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers, have not done Your Torah,
nor heeded Your commands and Your witnesses, with which You witnessed against
them.
[35] “For they have
not served You in their reign, or in Your great goodness that You gave them, or
in the large and rich land which You set before them – neither turned back from
their evil deeds.
[36] “See, we are
servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, to eat its fruit and
the good of it, see, we are servants in it!
[37] “And its rich
yield goes to the sovereigns You have set over us, because of our sins. And
they rule over our bodies and our livestock at their pleasure, and we are in
great distress.
[38] “And because of
all this, we are making a trustworthy pledge, and write it. And our rulers, our
Lĕwites, our priests set their seal on it.”
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Nehemiá 9:6-38
