Nehemiah 9:1-38 Nehemiah Reads to Israelites What Happened Since They Left Egypt

Nehemiah Reads to the Israelites What Happened Since They Left Egypt

Nehemiah 9:1-38           The Book of Nehemiah in [Smaller Chunks]

Now, [on] the 24th day of this month, the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Israel were assembled with fasting, with [sackcloth,] & earth upon them. [Daniel 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer & [petitions,] with fasting, sackcloth, & ashes.]

And the [descendants] of Israel, separated themselves from all [the] strangers, & stood, & confessed their sins, & the iniquities of their [forefathers.] And they stood up in their place 1/4 of the day; & read in the book of the Law of the Lord their God. Another 1/4 [of the day,] they confessed, & worshiped the Lord their God.

Then, upon the stairs, [some] of the Levites: Jeshua, [a.k.a. Joshua,] Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, & Chenani, stood up, & cried [out] with a loud voice to the Lord their God.

Then, the Levites: Jehusa, [a.k.a. Joshua,] Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, [a.k.a. Hashabneiah,] Sherebiah, Hodijah, [a.k.a. Hodiah,] Shebaniah, & Pethahiah, said, Stand up, & bless the Lord your God forever & ever. Blessed be Your glorious Name, which is exalted above all blessing & praise.

[Only] You alone, [are] the Lord [God.] You [have] made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host [of stars,] the earth, the seas, & all things that are [in them.] And You [preserve] them all; & the host of [Angels of] heaven [worship] You.

You [are] the Lord God, Who [chose] Abram, & [brought] him [here] out of Ur of the Chaldees, & [gave] him the name of Abraham. And [You] [found] his heart [to be] faithful before You, & [made] a covenant, [a.k.a contract,] with him, to give to [Abraham’s descendants,] the land of the: Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, & the Girgashites.

And [You] [have] performed Your Words; for You [are] righteous. And [You] [saw] the affliction of our [forefathers] in Egypt, & heard their [outcry] by the Red Sea. And [You] [displayed] signs & wonders upon Pharaoh; on his servants; & on all the people of his land. For You [knew] that they [acted] proudly against [the Israelites.]

So, You [got Yourself] a [famous] Name, [like] it is this day. And You [divided] the [Red] Sea [in front of the Israelites,] so that they [walked] through the [middle] of the sea on the dry land. And You [threw] their persecutors into the [deep] [sea] [like] a stone [cast] into mighty waters.

[Also] You [led] them by a cloudy pillar in the day; & by a pillar of fire in the night, to give them light [to be able to see] the way [in which] they should go. You also [came] down upon Mount Sinai, & [spoke] with them from heaven. [You] gave them right judgments, true Laws, & good [mandates] & commandments.

And [You] [made] known to them: Your Holy Sabbath, & [commanded] them [with] [commandments, mandates,] & Laws, by the hand of Moses, Your servant. And [You] [gave] them bread from heaven, [a.k.a. manna,] for their hunger, & [brought] water forth for them out of the rock for their thirst.

And [You] [promised] them that they should go in to possess the land [that] You [had] sworn to give them. But they, & our [forefathers,] dealt, [a.k.a. acted,] proudly, & [stubbornly] hardened their necks, & [didn’t listen] to Your commandments. And [they] refused to obey, & [weren’t] mindful of Your wonders, [a.k.a. miracles,] that You [did] among them.

But [they] hardened their necks, & in their rebellion, appointed a captain, [a.k.a. leader, & returned] to their bondage. But You [are] a God ready to pardon, gracious, merciful, & slow to anger, & of great kindness, & [You] [didn’t abandon] them.

[Yes,] when they had made [themselves] a [molded] [golden] calf, & said, This is your god that brought you up out of Egypt, & [they] had [done very wicked things.] Yet, in Your [abundant] mercies, [You] [didn’t abandon] them in the wilderness. The [cloudy] pillar [didn’t] depart from them by day, to lead them in the way, [a.k.a. road.]

Neither [did] the pillar of fire by night, [stop giving] them light, [to show them] the way [in which] they should go. You also [gave] Your good Spirit to instruct them, & [didn’t withhold] Your manna from their mouth, & [gave] them water for their thirst. [Yes,] 40 years You [provided for] them in the wilderness, so they lacked nothing.

Their clothes [didn’t grow] old, & their feet [didn’t swell.] [Also,] You [gave] them kingdoms & nations, & [divided] them into corners, [a.k.a. territories.] So, they possessed the land of: Sihon, the land of [Heshbon’s] king, & the land of Og, [Bashan’s] king.

[You] also [multiplied] their children [like] the stars of heaven, & [You] [brought] them into the land, [about] which You [had] promised to their [forefathers,] that they should go in to possess it. So, the children, [a.k.a. people,] went in, & possessed the land, & You [defeated] before the [Israelites,] the inhabitants of the land [of] the Canaanites.

And [You] [gave the Canaanites] with their kings, & the people of the land, into [the Israelites’] hands, to do with them as they [wanted.] And the [Israelites] took strong cities, & [rich] land, & possessed houses full of all [types of] goods, wells [that have already been dug,] vineyards, olive [groves,] & fruit trees in abundance.

So, [the Israelites ate,] & were filled, & became fat, & delighted themselves in Your great goodness. [Still,] they were disobedient, & rebelled against You. And [they] [threw] Your Law behind their backs, & [killed] Your prophets, [who] testified against them, to [return] them to You. And they [brought about] great provocations.

[2 Kings 17:16-17 And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, & made themselves [molded] images, even two calves, & made a grove, & worshiped all the host, [a.k.a. stars & constellations,] of heaven, & served Baal. And they caused their sons, & their daughters to pass through the fire, & [they] used divination, enchantments, & sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.]

Therefore, You [delivered] them into the hand of their enemies, [who oppressed] them. And in their time of trouble, when they cried [out] to You, [Lord God,] You [heard] them from heaven. And according to Your [abundant] mercies,You [gave] them [deliverers,] who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

But after they had [a period of] rest, they did evil again before You. [Judges 3:5-7 And the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Israel dwelt among the: Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, & Jebusites: And [the Israelites] took their daughters to be their wives, & gave their [own] daughters to their sons, & served their gods. And the [people] of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, & [forgot] the Lord their God, & served Baalim, & the groves.]

Therefore, You [left] them in the land of their enemies, [who] had [power] over them. Yet, when they returned, & cried [out] to You, You [heard] them from heaven. And You [did] deliver them many times according to Your [abundant] mercies.

And [You] testified against them, [so] that You [might] bring them to Your Law again. Yet, they [still] [acted] proudly, & [didn’t listen] to Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments ([that if a man [does] [them,] he shall live [by] them;) & [they] withdrew [their shoulders, a.k.a. turned their backs on You,] & hardened their [stubborn] [necks,] & wouldn’t hear.

Yet, You [put up with] them many years, & [warned] them by Your [Holy] Spirit [within] Your prophets. [Still,] they wouldn’t [listen.] Therefore, You [gave] them into the [hands] of the people of the lands. [Furthermore,] for Your [abundant] mercies’ sake, You [didn’t totally destroy] them, nor [abandon] them: for You [are] a gracious, & merciful God.

[2 Kings 24:13-14 And [Nebuchadnezzar] carried out [of there] all the treasures of the [Lord's] house, & the treasures of the [king's palaces,] & cut [into] pieces all the vessels of gold [that] Solomon, [Israel's] king, had made [that were] in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. And he carried away 10,000 captives: all Jerusalem, & all the princes, mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen, & [metal] smiths, & none remained, [except] the poorest sort of people of the land.]

Therefore, now, our God, the great, mighty, & [terribly awesome] God, Who [keeps] covenant, [a.k.a. contract,] & [demonstrates] mercy, [don’t] let all [our] trouble seem [like a] [small] [thing] before You; that [has] come upon: us, our: kings, princes, priests, prophets, our fathers, [a.k.a. leaders,] & all Your people, since the time of [Assyria’s] kings [until] this day.

[However,] You are just in all that [has been] brought upon us, for You [have] done right, but we have done wickedly. Neither have our: kings, princes, priests, & our fathers, kept Your Law, nor [listened] to Your commandments, & Your testimonies, [with which] You [did] testify against them.

For they have not served You in their [kingdoms,] & in Your great goodness that You [gave] them, & in the large, [rich] land [that] You [gave in front of] them. Neither [did] they [return] from their wicked works, [a.k.a. actions.]

[See,] we are servants this day, [in] the land that You [gave] to our [forefathers] to eat [its] fruit, & the good [of it.] [See] we are servants in it. And [this land yields] much [produce] to the kings, whom You [have put] over us, because of our sins.

Also, they have [power] over our bodies, & over our cattle, & [do as they please,] & we are in great distress. Because of all this, we make a [secure] covenant, [a.k.a. contract,] [with You,] & write it, & our: princes, Levites, & the priests [give their] seal [of approval] to it.

[2 Chronicles 30:20-21 And the Lord [paid attention] to Hezekiah, & healed the people. And the children, [a.k.a. people,] of Israel, [who] were present at Jerusalem, kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread 7 days with great gladness. And the Levites, & the priests, praised the Lord day-by-day, singing, [along] with loud instruments to the Lord.]