Nehemiah 9:13–30
13 “You ycame down also on Mount Sinai,
And spoke with them from heaven,
And gave them zjust ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
14 You made known to them Your aholy Sabbath,
And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws,
By the hand of Moses Your servant.
15 You bgave them bread from heaven for their hunger,
And cbrought them water out of the rock for their thirst,
And told them to dgo in to possess the land
Which You had 4sworn to give them.
16 “But ethey and our fathers acted 5proudly,
And did not heed Your commandments.
And gthey were not mindful of Your wonders
That You did among them.
But they hardened their necks,
And 7in their rebellion
They appointed ha leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
iGracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.
18 “Even jwhen they made a molded calf for themselves,
And said, ‘This is your god
That brought you up out of Egypt,’
And worked great provocations,
19 Yet in Your kmanifold mercies
You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
The lpillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on the road;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To show them light,
And the way they should go.
20 You also gave Your mgood Spirit to instruct them,
And did not withhold Your nmanna from their mouth,
And gave them owater for their thirst.
21 pForty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
They lacked nothing;
Their qclothes did not wear out
And their feet did not swell.
22 “Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations,
And divided them into 8districts.
So they took possession of the land of rSihon,
9The land of the king of Heshbon,
And the land of Og king of Bashan.
23 You also multiplied stheir children as the stars of heaven,
And brought them into the land
Which You had told their fathers
To go in and possess.
And possessed the land;
uYou subdued before them the inhabitants of the land,
The Canaanites,
And gave them into their hands,
With their kings
And the people of the land,
That they might do with them as they wished.
25 And they took strong cities and a vrich land,
And possessed whouses full of all goods,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
And 2fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate and were filled and xgrew fat,
And delighted themselves in Your great ygoodness.
26 “Nevertheless they zwere disobedient
And rebelled against You,
aCast Your law behind their backs
And killed Your bprophets, who 3testified against them
To turn them to Yourself;
And they worked great provocations.
27 cTherefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies,
Who oppressed them;
And in the time of their trouble,
When they cried to You,
You dheard from heaven;
And according to Your abundant mercies
eYou gave them deliverers who saved them
From the hand of their enemies.
fThey again did evil before You.
Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies,
So that they had dominion over them;
Yet when they returned and cried out to You,
You heard from heaven;
And gmany times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
29 And 4testified against them,
That You might bring them back to Your law.
Yet they acted 5proudly,
And did not heed Your commandments,
But sinned against Your judgments,
h‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’
And they shrugged their shoulders,
6Stiffened their necks,
And would not hear.
30 Yet for many years You had patience with them,
And 7testified iagainst them by Your Spirit jin Your prophets.
Yet they would not listen;
kTherefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.