Nehemiah 9:9–21

⁹“You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt

and heard them cry out at the Red Sea.

¹⁰You did signs and miracles against the king of Egypt,

and against all his officers and all his people,

because you knew how proud they were.

You became as famous as you are today.

¹¹You divided the sea in front of our ancestors;

they walked through on dry ground.

But you threw the people chasing them into the deep water,

like a stone thrown into mighty waters.

¹²You led our ancestors with a pillar of cloud by day

and with a pillar of fire at night.

It lit the way

they were supposed to go.

¹³You came down to Mount Sinai

and spoke from heaven to our ancestors.

You gave them fair rules and true teachings,

good orders and commands.

¹⁴You told them about your holy Sabbath

and gave them commands, orders, and teachings

through your servant Moses.

¹⁵When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven.

When they were thirsty, you brought them water from the rock.

You told them to enter and take over

the land you had promised to give them.

¹⁶“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn

and did not obey your commands.

¹⁷They refused to listen;

they forgot the miracles you did for them.

So they became stubborn and turned against you,

choosing a leader to take them back to slavery.

But you are a forgiving God.

You are kind and full of mercy.

You do not become angry quickly, and you have great love.

So you did not leave them.

¹⁸Our ancestors even made an idol of a calf for themselves.

They said, ‘This is your god, Israel,

who brought you up out of Egypt.’

They spoke against you.

¹⁹“You have great mercy,

so you did not leave them in the desert.

The pillar of cloud guided them by day,

and the pillar of fire led them at night,

lighting the way they were to go.

²⁰You gave your good Spirit to teach them.

You gave them manna to eat

and water when they were thirsty.

²¹You took care of them for forty years in the desert;

they needed nothing.

Their clothes did not wear out,

and their feet did not swell.