the children of Israel had not done so since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto this day: and there was very great joy.

And the book of the law of God was read every day from the first day even unto the last: and they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day they kept the congregation according to the manner.
(Nehemiah)
Chapter 9
The people’s public penance.

On the four and twentieth day of this month came the children of Israel together, with fasting, and sackcloth, and earth upon them.

And they separated the seed of Israel from all the strange children, and went and confessed their sins, and the iniquity of their fathers.

And they arose in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God four times in the day: and they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God four times in the day.

And the Levites arose on high, Jeshua, and Bani, and Kadmiel, and Shebaniah, and Buni, and Sherebiah, and Bani, and Chenani, and cried aloud unto the LORD their God.

And the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, and Bani, and Hashabeniah, and Sherebiah, and Hodiah, and Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Arise, praise the LORD your God for ever and ever; and praise the name of thy glory, which is exalted, with all blessing and praise.

O LORD, thou only art he: thou hast made heaven, and the heaven of heavens, and all their host, the earth, and all that is therein, the seas, and all that is therein; thou hast made all things alive, and the heavenly host worshippeth thee.

Thou art the LORD God, which didst choose Abram, and brought him up from Ur of Chaldea, and called him Abraham.

And found his heart faithful before thee, and made a covenant with him to give unto his seed the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgothites: and thou hast kept thy word, for thou art righteous.

And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea.

And thou didst signs and wonders unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they were proud against them, and hast made thee a name, as it is this day.

And thou hast rent the sea before them, and they went through dry in the midst of the sea, and cast their persecutors into the deep, as stones in mighty waters, 12. And led them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way which they went.

And came down upon mount Sinai, and spake unto them from heaven, and gave a true statute, and a law, and good commandments, and statutes;

And made known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commanded them statutes, and judgments, and laws, by thy servant Moses;

And gave them bread from heaven when they hungered, and let water come out of the rock when they thirsted; and told them to go in and possess the land, whereon thou liftedst up thine hand to give them.

But our fathers became proud and stiff-necked, because they obeyed not thy commandments, 17. And refused to hear, neither remembered thy wonders which thou didst in them, but became stiff-necked, and lifted up their heads, and turned to their servitude in their impatience. But thou, my God, forgavest, and wast gracious, and merciful, and patient, and of great compassion, and forsakest them not.

And though they made a calf cast, and said: This is thy God, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and did great blasphemies,

Nor didst thou forsake them in the wilderness, according to thy great mercy; neither didst the
pillar of cloud depart from them by day to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night to give them light in the way which they went.

And thou gavest them thy good spirit to instruct them; and thou turnedst not thy man from their mouth, and gavest them water when they thirsted.

Forty years didst thou feed them in the wilderness, that they lacked nothing. Their garments did not grow old, and their feet were not swollen.

And thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and dividedst them hither and thither, and they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

And multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land which thou hadst spoken unto their fathers to go in and possess it.

And the children went in, and possessed the land. And thou humbledst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and deliveredst them into their hand, and their kings, and the people of the land, to do with them according to their will.

And they obtained strong cities, and a fat land, and took houses full of all manner of good things, and wells digged, and vineyards, and oliveyards, and trees to eat of, the multitude thereof: and they did eat, and were filled, and grew fat, and lived in lasciviousness, through thy great goodness.

But they became disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind them; and slew thy prophets, whom they testified that they should turn unto thee; and did great blasphemies.

Therefore thou gavest them into the hand of their enemies, which affrighted them. And in the time of their anguish they cried unto thee; and thou heardest them from heaven; and by thy great mercy gavest them saviours, which delivered them out of the hand of their enemies.

And when they were at rest, they turned to do evil in thy sight. And thou leftst them in the hand of their enemies, and they ruled over them. Then they returned, and cried unto thee: and thou heardest them from heaven, and deliveredst them many times according to thy great mercy.

And testified unto them, that they should return unto thy law. But they were proud, and obeyed not thy commandments; and sinned against thy statutes, (which a man doeth, and dwelleth therein;) and turned away their shoulders, and became stiffnecked, and obeyed not.

And thou hast kept them many years, and hast caused them to testify by thy spirit in thy prophets; but they have not heard. Therefore hast thou delivered them into the Thou gavest them into the hand of the nations of the countries.

But according to thy great mercy thou hast not made an end of them, nor forsaken them: for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

Now therefore, our God, thou great God, mighty and terrible, who keepest covenant and mercy, consider not all the trouble that hath befallen us, and our kings, princes, priests, prophets, fathers, and all thy people, from the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.

Thou art righteous in all that thou hast brought upon us: for thou hast done right, but we have been wicked.

And our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our fathers, have not done according to thy law, nor kept thy commandments, nor kept thy testimonies, which thou hast testified unto them.

And they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great possessions which thou gavest them, and in the wide and fat land which thou hast set before them, and have not turned from their wickedness.

Behold, we are servants this day: and in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruits thereof, and the goods thereof, behold, we are servants within.

And his revenue is multiplied unto the kings which thou hast set over us for our sins: and they rule over our bodies and over our cattle according to their will, and we are in great distress.

And in all this we will make a firm covenant, and write, and cause our princes, and our Levites, and our priests, to seal it.
(Nehemiah)
Chapter 10
Sealing of the renewed covenant.

And the sealers were: Nehemiah Hathirsatha the son of Hachaliah, and Zidekiah, 2. Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

Pashur, Amariah, Malchia,

Hattus, Sebanja, Malluch,

Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

Daniel, Ginthon, Baruch,

Mesullam, Abia, Mejamin,

Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah: these were the priests.

And the Levites were: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binui among the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel 10. and their brothers: Sechanja, Hodia, Klita, Plaja, Hanan,

Micah, Rehob, Hasabiah,

Zechur, Zerebiah, Zebaniah,

Hodia, Bani and Beninu.

The chief of the people were: Pareos, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Sathu, Bani, 15. Buni, Asgad, Bebai,

Adonia, Bigvai, Adin,

Ater, Hezekiah, Asur,

Hodia, Hasum, Bezai,

Hariph, Anathoth, Neubai,

Magpias, Mesullam, Hesir,

Mesesabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,

Platja, Hanan, Anaja,

Hosea, Hananiah, Hasub,

Halohes, Pilha, Sobek,

Rehum, Hasabna, Maeseja,

Ahia, Hanan, Anan,

Malluch, Harim and Baena.

And the rest of the people, the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and the Nethinims, and all that were separated from the people of the land unto the law of God, with their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, all that could understand, 29. And their mighty men received it for their brethren. And they came and sware, and bound themselves by oath to walk in the law of God, which was given by Moses the servant of God, to keep and to do according to all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, and the judgments of the LORD our sovereign,

And that we would not give our daughters unto the nations of the land, nor take their daughters from our sons;

Even if the people of the land bring merchandise and all manner of food to sell on the sabbath day, that we will not take it from them on the sabbath day and on the holy days; and that we will leave the seventh