Nehemiah 9:1-25

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with dirt on their heads. The descendants of Israel (Jacob) separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers. While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day and for another fourth [of it] they confessed [their sins] and worshiped the LORD their God. On the platform of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they called out with a loud voice to the LORD their God. Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless (praise, honor) the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. May Your glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise.” [And Ezra said], “You are the LORD, You alone; You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host (the heavenly bodies), The earth and everything that is on it, The seas and everything that is in them. You give life to all of them, And the heavenly host is bowing down [in worship] to You. “You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, And gave him the name Abraham. “You found his heart to be faithful before You, And You made a covenant with him To give him the land of the Canaanite, Of the Hittite, of the Amorite, Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite— To give it to his descendants. And You have fulfilled Your promise, For You are righteous and just. ¶“You saw our fathers’ affliction in Egypt, And You heard their cry by the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds). “Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants and all the people of his land; For You knew that they behaved arrogantly toward them (the Israelites), And You made a name for Yourself, as it is to this day. “You divided the sea before them, So that they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land; You hurled their pursuers into the depths, Like a stone into mighty and raging waters. “And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, And with a pillar of fire by night To light the way for them In which they were to go. “Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; And You gave them fair ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. “So You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And gave them commandments, statutes, and law, Through Your servant Moses. “You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought water for them out of a rock for their thirst, And You told them to enter and take possession of The land that You swore to give them. [John 6:31-34] ¶“But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly; They stiffened their necks and would not heed Your commandments. “They refused to listen and obey, And did not remember Your wondrous acts which You had performed among them; So they stiffened their necks and [in their rebellion] appointed a leader in order to return them to slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and merciful and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; And You did not abandon them. [Num 14:4] “Even when they had made for themselves A calf of cast metal And said, ‘This is your god Who brought you up from Egypt,’ And committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies, You, in Your great mercy and compassion, Did not abandon them in the wilderness; The pillar of the cloud did not leave them by day, To lead them in the way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go. “You [also] gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst. “Indeed, for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell. “You also gave them kingdoms and peoples, And You allotted the kingdoms to them as a boundary. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon And the land of Og king of Bashan. “You made their children as numerous as the stars of heaven, And You brought them into the land Which You told their fathers to enter and possess. “So their sons (descendants) went in and took possession of 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 as they pleased. “They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all good things, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat, And they reveled and were delighted in Your great goodness.