Nehemiah 8–9

8¹all the people gathered together ^zat the square in front of the Water Gate. ^aThey asked Ezra the scribe ^bto bring the book of the law of Moses ^cthat the Lord had given Israel. ²On the first day of the seventh month, ^dEzra the priest ^ebrought the law ^fbefore the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding. ³While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, ^ghe read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively ^hto the book of the law. ⁱ⁴Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform ^jmade for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. ⁶Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted ^kall the people said, “Amen, Amen!” ^lThen they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ^m

⁷Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, ⁿwho were Levites, ^opexplained the law ^qto the people as they stood in their places. ⁸They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read. ⁹Nehemiah the governor, ^rEzra the priest and scribe, ^sand the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day ^tis holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” ^uFor all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, ^vsince today ^wis holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.” ^x11And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, ^ysince today ^zis holy. Do not grieve.” ¹²Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration, ^abecause they had understood the words that were explained to them.

Festival of Booths Observed

¹³On the second day, the family leaders of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, ^bassembled before Ezra the scribe ^cto study the words of the law. ¹⁴They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the festival of the seventh month. ^d15So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, just as it is written.” ^e16The people went out, brought back branches, and made booths for themselves on each of their rooftops, ^fand courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate, ^gand the square by the Gate of Ephraim. ^h17The whole community that had returned from exile ⁱmade booths and lived in them. They had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. ^jAnd there was tremendous joy. ^k18Ezra ^lread out of the book of the law of God ^mevery day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly, according to the ordinance. ⁿ

National Confession of Sin

9On the twenty-fourth day of this month ^othe Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads. ^p2Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, ^qand they stood ^rand confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers. ^s3While they stood in their places, ^tthey read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day ^uin confession ^vand worship of the Lord their God. ⁴Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levites ^wand cried out loudly to the Lord their God. ⁵Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah ^x—said, “Stand up. Praise Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting.” ^y

Praise Your glorious name, ^z

and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

⁶You ^aalone are Yahweh. ^b

You created the heavens,

the highest heavens with all their host,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them.

You give life to all of them, ^c

and the heavenly host worships You. ^d

⁷You are Yahweh,

the God who chose Abram

and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, ^e

and changed his name to Abraham. ^f

⁸You found his heart faithful in Your sight, ^g

and made a covenant with him

to give the land of the Canaanites,

Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,

Jebusites, and Girgashites—

to give it to his descendants. ^h

You have kept Your promise,

for You are righteous.

⁹You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egypt ⁱ

and heard their cry at the Red Sea.

¹⁰You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,

all his officials, and all the people of his land, ^j

for You knew how arrogantly they treated our ancestors.

You made a name for Yourself

that endures to this day.

¹¹You divided the sea before them,

and they crossed through it on dry ground. ^k

You hurled their pursuers into the depths

like a stone into churning waters. ^l

¹²You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,

and with a pillar of fire by night,

to illuminate the way they should go. ^m

¹³You came down on Mount Sinai, ⁿ

and spoke to them from heaven.

You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions,

and good statutes and commands.

¹⁴You revealed Your holy Sabbath to them,

and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction

through Your servant Moses. ^o

¹⁵You provided bread from heaven ^pfor their hunger;

You brought them water from the rock ^qfor their thirst.

You told them to go in and possess the land

You had sworn ^rto give them. ^s

¹⁶But our ancestors acted arrogantly;

they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.

¹⁷They refused to listen

and did not remember Your wonders

You performed among them. ^t

They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader

to return to their slavery in Egypt. ^uv

But You are a forgiving God,

gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in faithful love, ^w

and You did not abandon them.

¹⁸Even after they had cast an image of a calf

for themselves and said,

“This is your God who brought you out of Egypt,” ^x

and they had committed terrible blasphemies,

¹⁹You did not abandon them in the wilderness

because of Your great compassion.

During the day the pillar of cloud

never turned away from them,

guiding them on their journey.

And during the night the pillar of fire

illuminated the way they should go. ^y

²⁰You sent Your good Spirit ^zto instruct them.

You did not withhold Your manna ^afrom their mouths,

and You gave them water for their thirst. ^b

²¹You provided for them in the wilderness 40 years ^c

and they lacked nothing.

Their clothes did not wear out,

and their feet did not swell. ^d

²²You gave them kingdoms and peoples

and assigned them to be a boundary.

They took possession

of the land of Sihon ^eking of Heshbon

and of the land of Og king of Bashan. ^f

²³You multiplied their descendants

like the stars of heaven ^g

and brought them to the land

You told their ancestors to go in and take possession of it.

²⁴So their descendants went in and possessed the land:

You subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land before them

and handed their kings and the surrounding peoples over to them, ^h

to do as they pleased with them.

²⁵They captured fortified cities and fertile land

and took possession of well-supplied houses,

cisterns cut out of rock, vineyards,

olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. ⁱ

They ate, were filled,

became prosperous, and delighted in Your great goodness.

²⁶But they were disobedient and rebelled against You.

They flung Your law behind their backs ^j

and killed Your prophets ^k

who warned them

in order to turn them back to You.

They committed terrible blasphemies.

²⁷So You handed them over to their enemies,

who oppressed them.

In their time of distress, they cried out to You,

and You heard from heaven.

In Your abundant compassion

You gave them deliverers, who rescued them

from the power of their enemies.

²⁸But as soon as they had relief,

they again did what was evil in Your sight.

So You abandoned them to the power of their enemies,

who dominated them.

When they cried out to You again,

You heard from heaven and rescued them

many times in Your compassion. ^l

²⁹You warned them to turn back to Your law,

but they acted arrogantly

and would not obey Your commands.

They sinned against Your ordinances,

which a person will live by if he does them. ^m

They stubbornly resisted, ⁿ

stiffened their necks, and would not obey.

³⁰You were patient with them for many years,

and Your Spirit warned them through Your prophets, ^o

but they would not listen.

Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples. ^p

³¹However, in Your abundant compassion,

You did not destroy them or abandon them, ^q

for You are a gracious and compassionate God. ^r

³²So now, our God—the great, mighty,

and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant ^s—

do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,

our kings and leaders,

our priests and prophets,

our ancestors and all Your people,

from the days of the Assyrian kings ^tuntil today.

³³You are righteous concerning all that has come on us,

because You have acted faithfully,

while we have acted wickedly. ^u

³⁴Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors

did not obey Your law

or listen to Your commands

and warnings You gave them.

³⁵When they were in their kingdom,

with Your abundant goodness that You gave them,

and in the spacious and fertile land You set before them, ^v

they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.

³⁶Here we are today,

…