Nehemiah Reads to the Israelites What Happened Since They Left Egypt |
Nehemiah 9:1-38 The Book of Nehemiah in [Smaller Chunks] |
Now, on the 24th day of this month, the children [people] of Israel were assembled with fasting, with [sackcloth] & earth upon them, [signs of mourning.] And 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 up 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.] And 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. And [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. And [You saw] the affliction of our [forefathers] in Egypt & heard their [outcry] by the Red Sea. And [You showed] signs & wonders upon Pharaoh, on his servants & on 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. And You divided the [Red] Sea [in front of the Israelites] & they [walked] through the [middle] of the sea on dry land. And You threw their persecutors into the [deep sea like] a stone [cast] into mighty waters. |
[Also] You [led] them by a cloudy pillar in the day & by a pillar of fire in the night, to light the way they should go. You also [came] down upon Mount Sinai & [spoke] with them from heaven. [You] gave them right judgments, true laws & good [mandates] & commandments. |
And You made known to them Your holy Sabbath & [commanded] them [with commandments, mandates] & laws, by the hand of Moses, Your servant. And [You] gave them bread from heaven, [a.k.a. manna] for their hunger & brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst. |
And [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] hardened their necks & [didn’t listen] to Your commandments. And [they] refused to obey & [weren’t] mindful of Your wonders, [a.k.a. miracles] that You did among them. |
But [they] hardened their 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 had made [themselves] a [molded golden] calf, & said, This is your god that 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 [in which] they should go. You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them & [didn’t withhold] Your manna from their mouth & gave them water for their thirst. [Yes,] 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. |
You also multiplied their children [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. |
And [You] gave [the Canaanites] with their kings & the people of the land into [the Israelites’ hands,] to do with them as they [thought best.] And 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 ate & were filled & became fat & delighted themselves in Your great goodness. [Still] they were disobedient & rebelled against You. [They threw] Your law behind their backs & [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 time of trouble, when they cried [out] to You, [Lord God,] You heard them from heaven. And 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 & cried [out] to You, You heard them from heaven. And You did deliver them many times according to Your [abundant] mercies. |
And [You] testified against them, [so] that 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 [totally destroy] them, nor [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 & [terribly 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, [a.k.a. 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, kept Your law, nor [listened] to Your commandments & Your testimonies, [with 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.] |