Nehemiah Reads to Israelites What Happened Since They Left Egypt |
Nehemiah 9:1-38 The Book of Nehemiah in [Smaller Chunks] |
On the 24th day of this month, the children [people] of Israel were assembled with fasting, with sackcloth & earth upon them, [signs of mourning.] The [descendants] of Israel separated themselves from all the strangers & stood & confessed their sins & the iniquities of their [forefathers.] |
They stood up in their place 1/4 of the day & read [from] the book of the Law of the Lord their God. Another 1/4 [of the day,] they confessed & worshiped the Lord their God. Then, the Levites: Jeshua [a.k.a. Joshua,] Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani & Chenani stood on the stairs & cried [out] with a loud voice to the Lord their God. |
Then the Levites: Jehusa [a.k.a. Joshua] , Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah [a.k.a. Hashabneiah,] Sherebiah, Hodijah [a.k.a. Hodiah,] Shebaniah & Pethahiah, said, Stand up & bless the Lord your God forever & ever. Blessed be Your glorious Name, which is exalted above all blessing & praise. |
[Only] You alone are the Lord [God.] You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host [of stars,] the earth, the seas & all [that’s in them.] You preserve them all & the host of heaven worships You. |
You are the Lord God who [chose] Abram & brought him [here] out of Ur of the Chaldees & gave him the name of Abraham. [You] found his heart faithful before You & made a covenant [contract] with him to give the land of the Canaanites, Hittities, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites & the Girgashites to [Abraham’s descendants.] |
[You] have performed Your words; for You are righteous. [You saw] the affliction of our [forefathers] in Egypt & heard their cry by the Red Sea. [You showed] signs & wonders upon Pharaoh, on his servants & all the people of his land. For [You] knew they dealt proudly against [the Israelites.] |
So, You got [Your famous] Name, as it is this day. You divided the [Red Sea in front of the Israelites] & they walked through the [middle] of the sea on dry land. You threw their persecutors into the deep [sea like] a stone cast into mighty waters. |
[Also] You [led] them [with] a cloudy pillar in the day & a pillar of fire in the night, to light the way they should go. You [came] down upon Mount Sinai & [spoke] with them from heaven. [You] gave them right judgments, true laws & good statutes & commandments. |
You made known to them Your holy Sabbath & [commanded] them [with commandments,] statutes & laws, by the hand of Moses, Your servant. [You] gave them bread from heaven [manna] for their hunger & brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst. |
[You] promised them that they should go in to possess the land [that] You had sworn to give them. But they & our [forefathers] dealt proudly & [stubbornly] stiffened their necks & [didn’t listen] to Your commandments. [They] refused to obey & [weren’t] mindful of Your wonders [miracles] You did among them. |
But [they] hardened their [stubborn] necks & in their rebellion appointed a [leader & returned] to their bondage. But [You] are a God ready to pardon, gracious, merciful & slow to anger & of great kindness & You [didn’t abandon] them. |
[Yet,] when they made [themselves] a [molded golden] calf, & said, This is [your] god [who] brought you up out of Egypt & [did very wicked things.] Yet, in Your [abundant] mercies, [You didn’t abandon] them in the wilderness. The [cloudy] pillar [didn’t] depart from them by day, to lead them in their way. |
Neither [did] the pillar of fire by night, [stop giving] them light & to [show] them the way [to] go. You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them & [didn’t withhold] manna from their mouth & gave them water for their thirst. [Yet,] 40 years You [provided for] them in the wilderness, so they lacked nothing. |
Their clothes [didn’t wear out] & their feet [didn’t] swell. [Also,] You gave them kingdoms & nations & [divided] them into [districts.] So, they possessed the land of: Sihon, the land of [Heshbon’s] king & the land of Og [Bashan’s] king. |
Their children also multiplied [like] the stars of heaven & [You] brought them into the land, which You had promised to their [forefathers,] that they should go in & possess it. So the children [people] went in & possessed the land & You [defeated] before the [Israelites,] the inhabitants of the land [of] the Canaanites. |
You gave [the Canaanites] with their kings & the people of the land [into the Israelite’s hands,] to do with them [as they thought best.] The [Israelites] took strong cities & [rich] land & possessed houses full of all [types] of goods, wells [that have already been dug,] vineyards, olive [groves] & fruit trees in abundance. |
So [the Israelites & were filled & became fat & delighted themselves in Your great goodness. [Still] they were disobedient & rebelled against You. [They turned their backs on] Your law & [killed] Your prophets [who] testified against them, to [return] them to You. And they [formed] great provocations. |
[2 Kings 17:16-17 And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God & made themselves [molded] images, even two calves & made a grove & worshiped all the [stars & constellations] of heaven & served Baal. And they caused their sons & their daughters to pass through the fire & [they] used divination, enchantments & sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.] |
Therefore, You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, [who oppressed] them. In their times of trouble, when they cried to You, [Lord God,] You heard them from heaven. According to Your [abundant] mercies, You gave them [deliverers,] who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. |
But after they had [a period of] rest, they did evil again before You. [Judges 3:5-7 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites & Jebusites: And [the Israelites] took their daughters to be their wives & gave their daughters to their sons & served their gods. And the children [people] of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord & [forgot] the Lord their God & served Baalim & the groves.] |
Therefore, You left them in the hand of their enemies [who had power] over them. Yet, when they returned [to You] & cried to You, You heard them from heaven. You did deliver them many times according to Your [abundant] mercies. |
And testified against them, [so] You might bring them to Your law again. Yet they [still] dealt proudly & [didn’t] listen to Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments ([that men are supposed to do &] live [by] them) & [they turned their backs on You] & hardened their [stubborn necks] & [wouldn’t] hear. |
Yet, many years You [put up with] them, & [warned] them by the Spirit in Your prophets. [Still] they wouldn’t [listen.] Therefore, You gave them into the [hands] of the people of the lands. [Furthermore,] for Your [abundant] mercies’ sake, You [didn’t] utterly [destroy] them or [abandon] them: for You are a gracious & merciful God. |
[2 Kings 24:13-14 And [Nebuchadnezzar] carried out [of there] all the treasures of the [Lord's] house & the treasures of the [king's palaces] & cut [into] pieces all the vessels of gold [that] Solomon, [Israel's] king had made [that were] in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. And he carried away 10,000 captives: all Jerusalem & all the princes, mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen & [metal] smits & none remained, [except] the poorest sort of people of the land.] |
Therefore, now, our God, the great, mighty & [awesome] God, who [keeps] covenant [contract] & [shows] mercy, [don’t] let all [our] trouble that has come upon us seem like a [small thing to] You; since the time of [Assyria’s] kings on: our kings, princes, priests, prophets, our fathers [leaders] & all Your people, to this day. |
[However,] You are just in all that has been brought upon us, for You have done right, but we have done wickedly. Neither have our kings, princes, priests, our fathers [leaders,] kept Your law or [listened] to Your commandments & Your testimonies, which You did testify against them. |
For they [haven’t] served You in their [kingdoms] & in Your great goodness that You gave them in the large, [rich] land [that] You gave [in front of] them. Neither did they turn [away] from their wicked [actions.] |
[See,] we are servants this day in the land You gave to our [forefathers] to eat [its] fruit & the good [of it.] [See] we are servants in it. [This land] yields much [produce] to the kings, whom You have [put] over us, because of our sins. |
Also, they have [power] over our bodies & over our cattle & [do as they please] & we are in great distress. Because of all this, we make a [secure] covenant [contract with You] & write it & our princes, the Levites & the priests [give their] seal [of approval] to it. |
[2 Chronicles 29:20-21 And the Lord [paid attention] to Hezekiah & healed the people. And the children [people] of Israel, [who] were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread 7 days with great gladness. And the Levites & the priests praised the Lord day-by-day, singing & with loud instruments to the Lord.] |