Online Bible

The People Confess Their Sin

Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^athis month the Israelites assembled ^bwith fasting and in sackcloth and with ^cdirt ¹on their heads. 2 The ¹^adescendants of Israel (Jacob) separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and ^bconfessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers. 3 While ^athey stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day and for another fourth of it they confessed their sins and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 ^aOn the platform of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they called out with a loud voice to the LORD their God.

5 Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless (praise, honor) the LORD your God from ¹everlasting to everlasting.May Your glorious name be blessedAnd exalted above all blessing and praise.”

6 And Ezra said,“^aYou are the LORD, You alone;^bYou have made the heavens,The heaven of heavens with all their host (the heavenly bodies) ,The earth and everything that is on it,The seas and everything that is in them.^cYou give life to all of them,And the heavenly host is bowing down in worship to You.7 “You are the LORD God,^aWho chose AbramAnd brought him out of ^bUr of the Chaldees,And ^cgave him the name Abraham.8 “You found ^ahis heart to be faithful ¹before You,And You ²made a covenant with himTo give him the land of the Canaanite,Of the Hittite, of the Amorite,Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite—To give it to his descendants.And You ^bhave fulfilled Your promise,For You are righteous and just.

9 “^aYou saw our fathers’ affliction in Egypt,And You ^bheard their cry by the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) .10 “Then You performed ^asigns and wonders against Pharaoh,Against all his servants and all the people of his land;For You knew that ^bthey behaved arrogantly toward them (the Israelites) ,And You made a ^cname for Yourself, as it is to this day.11 “^aYou divided the sea before them,So that they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land;^bYou hurled their pursuers into the depths,Like a stone into mighty and raging waters.12 “And with a pillar of cloud ^aYou led them by day,And with a pillar of fire by nightTo light the way for themIn which they were to go.13 “Then ^aYou came down on Mount Sinai,And ^bspoke with them from heaven;And You gave them ^cfair ordinances and true laws,Good statutes and commandments.14 “So You made known to them ^aYour holy Sabbath,And gave them commandments, statutes, and law,¹Through Your servant Moses.15 “You ^agave them bread from heaven for their hunger,And ^bbrought water for them out of a rock for their thirst,And You ^ctold them to enter and take possession ofThe land that You ¹swore to give them. John 6:31-34

16 “But they, our fathers, ^aacted arrogantly;They ^bstiffened their necks and would not heed Your commandments.17 “They refused to listen and obey,And ^adid not remember Your wondrous acts which You had performed among them;So they stiffened their necks and in their rebellion ^bappointed a leader in order to return them to slavery in Egypt.But You are a God ^cof forgiveness,Gracious and merciful and compassionate,¹Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;And You did not abandon them. Num 14:418 “Even when they had ^amade for themselvesA ¹calf of cast metalAnd said, ‘This is your godWho brought you up from Egypt,’And committed great and contemptible blasphemies,19 ^aYou, in Your great mercy and compassion,Did not abandon them in the wilderness;^bThe pillar of the cloud did not leave them by day,To lead them in the way,Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go.20 “^aYou also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth,And You gave them water for their thirst.21 “^aIndeed, for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing,Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.22 “You also gave them kingdoms and peoples,And You allotted the kingdoms to them as a boundary.So ^athey took possession of the land of Sihon king of HeshbonAnd the land of Og king of Bashan.23 “You made their children as numerous as ^athe stars of heaven,And You brought them into the landWhich You told their fathers to enter and possess.24 “^aSo their sons (descendants) went in and took possession of the land;And ^bYou subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites,And You gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land,To do with them as they pleased.25 “^aThey captured fortified cities and a ^bfertile land.They took possession of ^chouses full of all good things,Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,And ¹fruit trees in abundance.So they ate and were filled and ^dbecame fat,And they ^ereveled and were delighted in Your great goodness.

26 “^aYet they were disobedient and rebelled against You,And ^bcast Your law behind their backsAnd ^ckilled Your prophets who ^dwarned themTo return to You;And ^ethey committed great and contemptible blasphemies.27 “Therefore You ^ahanded them over to their enemies who oppressed them.^bBut when they cried out to You in the time of their suffering and distress,You heard them from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You ^cgave them ¹people to rescue them.Who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.28 “But ^aas soon as they had rest, they again did evil before You;Therefore You abandoned them into the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them.Yet when they turned and cried out again to You, You heard them from heaven,And You rescued them ^bmany times in accordance with Your compassion,29 And You ^aadmonished them and warned them to turn them back to Your law.Yet ^bthey acted presumptuously and arrogantly and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your ordinances,Which ^cby keeping, a man will live.But they ^dturned a stubborn shoulder, stiffened their neck, and would not listen.30 “^aYet You were patient with them for many years,And ^badmonished them and warned them by ^cYour Spirit through Your prophets;Still they would not ¹listen.Therefore You gave them into the hand (power) of the peoples of the lands.31 “Yet in Your great compassion You ^adid not utterly destroy them or abandon them,For You are ^ba gracious and merciful God.

32 “Now therefore, our God, ^athe great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness,Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You,Which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people,^bSince the time of the kings of Assyria to this day.33 “However, ^aYou are just and righteous in everything that has come upon us;For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly.34 “Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Your lawOr paid attention to Your commandments and Your warnings which You have given them.35 “But ^athey, in their kingdom,With ^bYour great goodness which You gave them,With the broad and rich land which You set before them,Did not serve You or turn from their wicked deeds.36 “Behold, ^awe are slaves today,And as for the land which You gave our fathers, to eat of its fruit and its goodness,Behold, we are slaves in it.37 “^aIts abundant produce is for the kingsWhom You have set over us because of our sins;They also rule over our bodiesAnd over our cattle as they please,So we are in great distress.

A Covenant Results

38 “¹Now because of all this^aWe are making an agreement in writing;And on the ^bsealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.”