Nehemiah 9 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

The People Confess Their Sin

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of (A)this month the sons of Israel assembled (B)with fasting, in sackcloth and with (C)dirt upon them. 2 The [a](D)descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and (E)confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 While (F)they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. 4 (G)Now on the Levites’ platform stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Chenani, and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.

5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah, said, “Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever!

O may Your glorious name be blessed
And exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 “(H)You alone are the Lord.
(I)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.
(J)You give life to all of them
And the heavenly host bows down before You.
7 “You are the Lord God,
(K)Who chose Abram
And brought him out from (L)Ur of the Chaldees,
And (M)gave him the name Abraham.
8 “You found (N)his heart faithful before You,
And made a covenant with him
To give him the land of the Canaanite,
Of the Hittite and the Amorite,
Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite and the Girgashite—
To give it to his [b]descendants.
And You (O)have fulfilled Your promise,
For You are righteous.

9 “(P)You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And (Q)heard their cry by the [c]Red Sea.
10 “Then You performed (R)signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants and all the people of his land;
For You knew that (S)they acted arrogantly toward them,
And (T)made a name for Yourself as it is this day.
11 “(U)You divided the sea before them,
So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground;
And (V)their pursuers You hurled into the depths,
Like a stone into [d]raging waters.
12 “And with a pillar of cloud (W)You led them by day,
And with a pillar of fire by night
To light for them the way
In which they were to go.
13 “Then (X)You came down on Mount Sinai,
And (Y)spoke with them from heaven;
You gave them (Z)just ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
14 “So You made known to them (AA)Your holy sabbath,
And laid down for them commandments, statutes and law,
Through Your servant Moses.
15 “You (AB)provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger,
You (AC)brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst,
And You (AD)told them to enter in order to possess
The land which You [e]swore to give them.

16 “But they, our fathers, (AE)acted arrogantly;
They [f](AF)became stubborn and would not listen to Your commandments.
17 “They refused to listen,
And (AG)did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them;
So they became stubborn and (AH)appointed a leader to return to their slavery [g]in Egypt.
But You are a God (AI)of forgiveness,
Gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not forsake them.
18 “Even when they (AJ)made for themselves
A calf of molten metal
And said, ‘This is your God
Who brought you up from Egypt,’
And committed great [h]blasphemies,
19 (AK)You, in Your great compassion,
Did not forsake them in the wilderness;
(AL)The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day,
To guide them on their way,
Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.
20 “(AM)You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,
Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst.
21 “Indeed, (AN)forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want;
Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell.
22 “You also gave them kingdoms and peoples,
And allotted them to them as a [i]boundary.
(AO)They took possession of the land of Sihon [j]the king of Heshbon
And the land of Og the king of Bashan.
23 “You made their sons numerous as (AP)the stars of heaven,
And You brought them into the land
Which You had told their fathers to enter and possess.
24 “(AQ)So their sons entered and possessed the land.
And (AR)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 [k]as they desired.
25 “(AS)They captured fortified cities and a [l](AT)fertile land.
They took possession of (AU)houses full of every good thing,
Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,
Fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate, were filled and (AV)grew fat,
And (AW)reveled in Your great goodness.

26 “(AX)But they became disobedient and rebelled against You,
And (AY)cast Your law behind their backs
And (AZ)killed Your prophets who had (BA)admonished them
So that they might return to You,
And (BB)they committed great [m]blasphemies.
27 “Therefore You (BC)delivered them into the hand of their oppressors who oppressed them,
But when they cried to You (BD)in the time of their distress,
You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion
You (BE)gave them deliverers who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors.
28 “But (BF)as soon as they had rest, they did evil again before You;
Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them.
When they cried again to You, You heard from heaven,
And (BG)many times You rescued them according to Your compassion,
29 And (BH)admonished them in order to turn them back to Your law.
Yet (BI)they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your ordinances,
By (BJ)which if a man observes them he shall live.
And they [n](BK)turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen.
30 “(BL)However, You bore with them for many years,
And (BM)admonished them by (BN)Your Spirit through Your prophets,
Yet they would not give ear.
Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 “Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You (BO)did not make an end of them or forsake them,
For You are (BP)a gracious and compassionate God.

32 “Now therefore, our God, (BQ)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 come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people,
(BR)From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.
33 “However, (BS)You are just in all that has come upon us;
For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly.
34 “For our kings, our leaders, our priests and our fathers have not kept Your law
Or paid attention to Your commandments and Your [o]admonitions with which You have [p]admonished them.
35 “But (BT)they, in their own kingdom,
(BU)With Your great 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, (BV)we are slaves today,
And as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its bounty,
Behold, we are slaves in it.
37 “(BW)Its abundant produce is for the kings
Whom You have set over us because of our sins;
They also rule over our bodies
And over our cattle as they please,
So we are in great distress.

A Covenant Results

38 “[q]Now because of all this
(BX)We are making an agreement in writing;
And on the (BY)sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites and our priests.”

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 9:2 Lit seed
  2. Nehemiah 9:8 Lit seed
  3. Nehemiah 9:9 Lit Sea of Reeds
  4. Nehemiah 9:11 Lit strong, mighty
  5. Nehemiah 9:15 Lit lifted up Your hand
  6. Nehemiah 9:16 Lit stiffened their neck; so also v 17
  7. Nehemiah 9:17 So Gr and some Heb mss; Heb reads in their rebellion
  8. Nehemiah 9:18 Lit acts of contempt
  9. Nehemiah 9:22 Lit side, corner
  10. Nehemiah 9:22 So the Gr and the Latin; Heb reads and the land of the king of Heshbon
  11. Nehemiah 9:24 Lit according to their desire
  12. Nehemiah 9:25 Lit fat
  13. Nehemiah 9:26 Lit acts of contempt
  14. Nehemiah 9:29 Lit gave
  15. Nehemiah 9:34 Lit testimonies
  16. Nehemiah 9:34 Or witnessed
  17. Nehemiah 9:38 Ch 10:1 in Heb

Cross references

  1. Nehemiah 9:1 : Neh 8:2
  2. Nehemiah 9:1 : Ezra 8:23
  3. Nehemiah 9:1 : 1 Sam 4:12
  4. Nehemiah 9:2 : Ezra 10:11; Neh 13:3
  5. Nehemiah 9:2 : Prov 28:13; Jer 3:13
  6. Nehemiah 9:3 : Neh 8:4
  7. Nehemiah 9:4 : Neh 8:7
  8. Nehemiah 9:6 : Deut 6:4; 2 Kin 19:15
  9. Nehemiah 9:6 : Gen 1:1
  10. Nehemiah 9:6 : Col 1:16f
  11. Nehemiah 9:7 : Gen 12:1
  12. Nehemiah 9:7 : Gen 11:31
  13. Nehemiah 9:7 : Gen 17:5
  14. Nehemiah 9:8 : Gen 15:6, 18-21
  15. Nehemiah 9:8 : Josh 21:43-45
  16. Nehemiah 9:9 : Ex 3:7
  17. Nehemiah 9:9 : Ex 14:10-14, 31
  18. Nehemiah 9:10 : Ex 7:8-12:32
  19. Nehemiah 9:10 : Ex 5:2
  20. Nehemiah 9:10 : Ex 9:16
  21. Nehemiah 9:11 : Ex 14:21
  22. Nehemiah 9:11 : Ex 15:1, 5, 10
  23. Nehemiah 9:12 : Ex 13:21, 22
  24. Nehemiah 9:13 : Ex 19:11, 18-20
  25. Nehemiah 9:13 : Ex 20:1
  26. Nehemiah 9:13 : Ps 19:7-9
  27. Nehemiah 9:14 : Ex 16:23; 20:8
  28. Nehemiah 9:15 : Ex 16:4, 14, 15
  29. Nehemiah 9:15 : Ex 17:6; Num 20:7-13
  30. Nehemiah 9:15 : Deut 1:8, 21
  31. Nehemiah 9:16 : Neh 9:10
  32. Nehemiah 9:16 : Deut 1:26-33; 31:27; Neh 9:29
  33. Nehemiah 9:17 : Ps 78:11, 42-55
  34. Nehemiah 9:17 : Num 14:4
  35. Nehemiah 9:17 : Ex 34:6, 7; Num 14:18
  36. Nehemiah 9:18 : Ex 32:4-8, 31
  37. Nehemiah 9:19 : Deut 8:2-4; Neh 9:27, 31
  38. Nehemiah 9:19 : Neh 9:12
  39. Nehemiah 9:20 : Num 11:17; Neh 9:30; Is 63:11-14
  40. Nehemiah 9:21 : Deut 2:7
  41. Nehemiah 9:22 : Num 21:21-35
  42. Nehemiah 9:23 : Gen 15:5; 22:17
  43. Nehemiah 9:24 : Josh 11:23; 21:43
  44. Nehemiah 9:24 : Josh 18:1
  45. Nehemiah 9:25 : Deut 3:5
  46. Nehemiah 9:25 : Num 13:27
  47. Nehemiah 9:25 : Deut 6:11
  48. Nehemiah 9:25 : Deut 32:15
  49. Nehemiah 9:25 : 1 Kin 8:66
  50. Nehemiah 9:26 : Judg 2:11
  51. Nehemiah 9:26 : 1 Kin 14:9
  52. Nehemiah 9:26 : 2 Chr 36:16
  53. Nehemiah 9:26 : Neh 9:30
  54. Nehemiah 9:26 : Neh 9:18
  55. Nehemiah 9:27 : Judg 2:14
  56. Nehemiah 9:27 : Deut 4:29
  57. Nehemiah 9:27 : Judg 2:16
  58. Nehemiah 9:28 : Judg 3:11
  59. Nehemiah 9:28 : Ps 106:43
  60. Nehemiah 9:29 : Neh 9:26, 30
  61. Nehemiah 9:29 : Neh 9:10, 16
  62. Nehemiah 9:29 : Lev 18:5
  63. Nehemiah 9:29 : Zech 7:11
  64. Nehemiah 9:30 : Ps 95:10; Acts 13:18
  65. Nehemiah 9:30 : 2 Kin 17:13-18; 2 Chr 36:15, 16; Neh 9:26, 29
  66. Nehemiah 9:30 : Neh 9:20
  67. Nehemiah 9:31 : Jer 4:27
  68. Nehemiah 9:31 : Neh 9:17
  69. Nehemiah 9:32 : Neh 1:5
  70. Nehemiah 9:32 : 2 Kin 15:19, 29; 2 Kin 17:3-6; Ezra 4:2, 10
  71. Nehemiah 9:33 : Gen 18:25; Jer 12:1
  72. Nehemiah 9:35 : Deut 28:47
  73. Nehemiah 9:35 : Neh 9:25
  74. Nehemiah 9:36 : Deut 28:48
  75. Nehemiah 9:37 : Deut 28:33
  76. Nehemiah 9:38 : Neh 10:29
  77. Nehemiah 9:38 : Neh 10:1

You Might Also Like:

Nehemiah 9 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

9 And in the twenty and fourth day of this month have the sons of Israel been gathered, with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them; 2 and the seed of Israel are separated from all sons of a stranger, and stand and confess concerning their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers, 3 and r...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

9 Forsooth in the four and twentieth day of this month, the sons of Israel came together in fasting, and in sackcloths, and earth was on them. (Now on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites came together in sackcloths, with earth on their heads, for a fast, to show remorse for their...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - World English Bible (WEB)

9 Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, with sackcloth, and dirt on them. 2 The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 They stood up in their pla...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - The Voice (VOICE)

9 Later, on the 24th day of that same month, the Israelites came back together. Everyone fasted and wore sackcloth to show their repentance. They covered their heads with dust to show their mourning. 2 They also separated themselves from the foreigners who were living among them. Then the Israelite...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Levites Tell Israel’s Story9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this same month, Bnei-Yisrael gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. 2 The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of t...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

National Confession9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth upon their heads. 2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

National Confession9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth upon their heads. 2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

National Confession9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.[a] 2 Then those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of th...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

National Confession9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with earth on their heads.[a](A)2 Then those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their an...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New Living Translation (NLT)

The People Confess Their Sins9 On October 31[a] the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 The...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New Life Version (NLV)

The People Tell Their Sins to God9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel gathered together, but they did not eat. They dressed in cloth made from hair, and put dirt on their heads. 2 The children of Israel separated themselves from all those of other nations. They stood and ...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The People Confess Their Sins9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of (A)this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, (B)and with [a]dust on their heads. 2 Then (C)those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and (D)confessed their sin...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The Israelites confess their sins9 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their s...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New International Version (NIV)

The Israelites Confess Their Sins9 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.(A) 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.(B) They stood in their places and confessed th...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The Israelites Admit They Have Sinned9 It was the 24th day of the seventh month. The Israelites gathered together again. They didn’t eat any food. They wore the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. They put dust on their heads. 2 The Israelites separated themselves from everyone else. They ...
Read More

Nehemiah 9 - New English Translation (NET)

The People Acknowledge Their Sin before God9 On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust. 2 Those truly of Israelite descent[a] separated from all the foreigners,[b] standing and confessing their sins a...
Read More