3 While they stood in their places,u they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the dayv in confessionw and worship of the Lord their God. 4 Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levitesx and cried out loudly to the Lord their God. 5 Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiahy—said, “Stand up. Blessed be the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting.”z

Blessed be your glorious name,aa

and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

6 You,B Lord, are the only God.C,ab

You created the heavens,

the highest heavens with all their stars,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them.

You give life to all of them,ac

and all the stars of heaven worship you.ad

7 You, the Lord,

are the God who chose Abram

and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,ae

and changed his name to Abraham.af

8 You found his heart faithful in your sight,ag

and made a covenant with him

to give the land of the Canaanites,

Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites,

Jebusites, and Girgashites—

to give it to his descendants.ah

You have fulfilled your promise,

for you are righteous.