CHAPTER 9

¹And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites gathered in fast and sackcloth with soil on their heads. ²And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they confessed their offenses and the crimes of their fathers. ³And they rose up in the place where they stood and read from the Book of Teaching of the LORD their God a quarter of the day, and a quarter they were confessing and bowing down to the LORD their God. ⁴And Jeshua, and the sons of Kadmiel, Shebeniah, the sons of Sherebiah, Bani, Chenani, stood up on the dais of the Levites and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God. ⁵And the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, Pethahiah, said, “Arise, bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting, and may they bless Your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise. ⁶You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, the utmost heavens and all their array, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them, and You give life to them all, and the array of the heavens bows to You. ⁷You are the LORD God who chose Abram and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees and made his name Abraham. ⁸And you found his heart faithful before You, and You sealed a covenant with him to give him the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, to give to his seed, and You fulfilled Your words, for You are righteous. ⁹And You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and You heard their cry at the Sea of Reeds. ¹⁰And You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and against all his servants and against all the people of his land, for You knew that they had acted arrogantly against them, and You made Yourself a name as on this day. ¹¹And the sea You split before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land. And their pursuers You flung into the deep like a stone in fierce waters. ¹²And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day and with a pillar of fire by night to light up for them the way on which they should go. ¹³And You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from the heavens and gave them just laws and true teachings, good statutes and commands. ¹⁴And Your holy sabbath You made known to them, and with commands and statutes and teachings You charged them through Moses your servant. ¹⁵And bread from the heavens You brought to give them for their hunger, and water from the rock You brought out to them for their thirst. And You said to them to come to take hold of the land that You vowed to give to them. ¹⁶But they and our fathers acted arrogantly and were stiff-necked and did not heed Your commands, ¹⁷and they refused to heed and did not recall Your wonders that You did for them. And they were stiff-necked and turned round to go back to their slavery in their rebellion. But You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in kindness, and You did not forsake them ¹⁸though they made for themselves a molten calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you up from Egypt,’ and they did great despicable acts. ¹⁹But You in Your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud did not turn away from them by day to lead them on the way nor the pillar of fire by night to light up for them the way on which they should go. ²⁰And Your goodly spirit You gave to make them wise, and Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, and water You gave them for their thirst. ²¹And forty years You sustained them, in the wilderness they knew no want. Their cloaks did not wear out, and their feet did not swell. ²²And You gave them kingdoms and peoples, shared them out in parcels, and they took hold of the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³And You multiplied their children like the stars of the heavens and brought them to the land of which You said to their fathers to come to take hold. ²⁴And the sons came and took hold of the land, and You subjugated before them the Canaanite dwellers of the land, and You gave them into their hand, and their kings and the land’s peoples, to do with them as they pleased. ²⁵And they captured fortified towns and rich soil and took hold of houses filled with everything good, hewed cisterns, vineyards and olive trees, and abundant fruit-bearing trees. And they ate and were sated and grew fat and delighted in Your bounty. ²⁶But they revolted and rebelled against You, and flung Your teaching behind their back. Your prophets they slayed, who had warned them so as to bring them back to You, and they did great despicable acts. ²⁷And You gave them into the hand of their foes, who brought them into straits. And in the time of their distress they cried out to You, and You from the heavens heard, and in Your great mercy gave them rescuers who rescued them from the hand of their foes. ²⁸And when they had respite, they went back to doing evil before You. And You forsook them in the hand of their enemies who held sway over them. And once again they cried out, and You from the heavens heard and saved them in Your mercy many a time. ²⁹And You warned them to bring them back to Your teaching, but they acted arrogantly and did not heed Your commands, and offended against Your laws which when a man does them he lives through them, and they thrust forth a defiant shoulder and were stiff-necked and did not heed. ³⁰And You kept them on for many years and warned them through Your spirit by Your prophets, but they did not listen, and You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹But in Your great mercy You did not make an utter end of them and did not forsake them, for You are a gracious and merciful God. ³²And now, You are our God, the great and mighty and fearsome God, keeping the covenant and the faith. Let not all the trouble that has overtaken us, our kings, our nobles, our priests and our prophets, our fathers, and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria to this day seem a small thing before You. ³³And You are righteous in all that has come upon us, for in truth You have acted, and we have been wicked. ³⁴Our kings, our nobles, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Your teaching and have not attended to Your commands and to Your precepts about which You warned us. ³⁵And they with their kingship and with the abundant bounty that You gave them did not serve You and did not turn back from their evil deeds. ³⁶Here are we slaves today, and the land You gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its bounty, here are we slaves within it. ³⁷And its abundant yield belongs to the kings that You put over us for our offenses, and they rule over our carcasses and over our beasts as it pleases them, and we are in great straits.”