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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Nehemiah 9 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/nehemiah/9.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/nehemiah/9-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Nehemiah 9</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../nehemiah/8.htm" title="Nehemiah 8">◄</a> Nehemiah 9 <a href="../nehemiah/10.htm" title="Nehemiah 10">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/nehemiah/9.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">The People Confess Their Sins</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>On October 31<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>They remained standing in place for three hours<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> while the Book of the Law of the LORD their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the LORD their God. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the stairway of the Levites and cried out to the LORD their God with loud voices.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Then the leaders of the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—called out to the people: “Stand up and praise the LORD your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Then they prayed:</p><p class="b"/><p class="pmo">“May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>“You alone are the LORD. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>“You are the LORD God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“You saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people, for you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors. You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>You divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land! And then you hurled their enemies into the depths of the sea. They sank like stones beneath the mighty waters. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>You led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>“You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>You instructed them concerning your holy Sabbath. And you commanded them, through Moses your servant, to obey all your commands, decrees, and instructions.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>“You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a> But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>“But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“Then you helped our ancestors conquer kingdoms and nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> They took over the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>“They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless! Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>“But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>“But as soon as they were at peace, your people again committed evil in your sight, and once more you let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times!</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>“You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>“And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors—all of your people—from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>Even while they had their own kingdom, they did not serve you, though you showered your goodness on them. You gave them a large, fertile land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness.</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>“So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They have power over us and our livestock. We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery.”</p><p class="hdg">The People Agree to Obey</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/9-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span><a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">f</span></a>The people responded, “In view of all this,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">g</span></a> we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests.”</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">9:1 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">On the twenty-fourth day of that same month,</span><span class="ft"> the seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was October 31, 445 </span><span class="sc">b.c.</span><span class="ft">; also see notes on 1:1 and 8:2.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">9:3 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">for a quarter of a day.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">9:9 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">sea of reeds.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">9:17 </span><span class="ft">As in Greek version; Hebrew reads </span><span class="it">in their rebellion.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">9:22 </span><span class="ft">The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.</span><br><span class="fn">f</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">9:38a </span><span class="ft">Verse 9:38 is numbered 10:1 in Hebrew text.</span><br><span class="fn">g</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">9:38b </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">In spite of all this.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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