1 ARST Two days later, the Israelite people gathered together again.{ To show that they were sorry for their sins,} they went without food, they wore{ clothes made from} rough cloth, and they put dirt on their{ heads}. BSB BSB: On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.
2 ARST The descendants of Israel separated themselves away from all the descendants of foreigners. They stood there and confessed their own sins and the wicked things their ancestors had done. BSB BSB: Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 ARST They stood in place and{ listened to someone} read from the scroll of the law of Yahweh their God for three hours. Then for another three hours they confessed their sins and bowed down and worshiped Yahweh their God. BSB BSB: While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.
4 ARST { Some of} the Levites stood up on the stairs, including Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, another{ man} named Bani, and Kenani. And they cried out{ sorrowfully} in a loud voice to Yahweh their God. BSB BSB: And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God.
5 ARST Then some Levites spoke. They were named Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said,“Stand up and praise Yahweh your God, who has always{ lived} and will{ live} forever! Yahweh, we praise your glorious name! Your name is more important than everything else that is good and wonderful! BSB BSB: Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
6 ARST You are Yahweh, and no one else. You made the heavens that are above everything, and all that lives in the heavens{ above the earth}. You made the earth and everything that is on it, and you made the seas and everything that is in them. You are the one who causes all living things to be alive. Everything that{ lives} in the heavens{ above the earth} worships you. BSB BSB: You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.
7 ARST You are Yahweh! You are the God who chose Abram and brought him out of{ the city of} Ur, where the Chaldean people{ lived}. You changed his name to Abraham. BSB BSB: You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
8 ARST You saw that he was faithful to you in his inner being. You made a promise to him{ pledged with blood}, promising that you would give a land{ to him} and to his descendants. This was the land where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites{ lived}. And you did what you promised, because you{ always} do what is right. BSB BSB: You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, of the Jebusites and Girgashites—to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise, because You are righteous.
9 ARST You saw how{ the Egyptians} mistreated our ancestors in Egypt. You heard them cry out{ to you for help} when they were beside the Red Sea. BSB BSB: You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.
10 ARST You knew that{ the leaders of Egypt} were treating{ our ancestors} very arrogantly. So you performed miracles for Pharaoh and his officials and all the people of Egypt.{ These proved you are the true God.} You made yourself famous, and you are still famous! BSB BSB: You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the people of his land, for You knew they had acted with arrogance against our fathers. You made a name for Yourself that endures to this day.
11 ARST You divided the sea in front of{ your people Israel}, and they{ walked} through the middle of the sea on dry land. But you drowned{ the soldiers of the Egyptian army} under the waters. They sank as a stone sinks in deep water! BSB BSB: You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
12 ARST During the day you led{ your people} by a cloud{ that looked like a huge} pillar. At night you led them by a fire{ that looked like a huge} pillar. It shone on the path in front of them to show them where they should walk. BSB BSB: You led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they should travel.
13 ARST When{ our ancestors} were at Sinai Mountain, you appeared to them and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them honest instructions and trustworthy laws. You gave them good rules and commands. BSB BSB: You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
14 ARST You taught them about your Sabbath{ day of rest}. It is set apart{ from the other days of the week}. You gave commands and rules and laws for the people by your servant Moses. BSB BSB: You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.
15 ARST When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, you gave them water from a rock. You told them to go and take the land{ of Canaan}, which you had promised with a vow to give them. BSB BSB: In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land that You had sworn to give them.
16 ARST But our ancestors were proud and stubborn. They refused to obey what you commanded them{ to do}. BSB BSB: But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments.
17 ARST They refused to obey you. They did not consider all the miracles that you had performed for them. They became stubborn and rebelled against you. They appointed a leader to take{ them} back{ to Egypt}, where they would be slaves{ again}! But you are a God who forgives us. You act kindly and mercifully{ toward us}. You do not become angry quickly. Instead, you faithfully love{ us} very much. So you did not leave{ our ancestors} alone{ in the desert}. BSB BSB: They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.
18 ARST Indeed{ you did not leave them alone}, even though they made an idol for themselves{ that resembled} a calf. They said{ about the idol},‘This is our god, who brought us up out of Egypt.’ By doing that they insulted you greatly. BSB BSB: Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and when they committed terrible blasphemies,
19 ARST But because you always act mercifully, you did not leave them alone in the desert. During the daytime, the cloud{ that looked like a huge} pillar above them continued to lead them in the way{ you wanted them to go}. And during the night, the fire{ that looked like a huge} pillar shone on the path in front of them to show them where to walk. BSB BSB: You in Your great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud never turned away from guiding them on their path; and by the night the pillar of fire illuminated the way they should go.
20 ARST You gave them your good Spirit to instruct them. You continued to give them manna when they were hungry, and you gave them water when they were thirsty. BSB BSB: You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.
21 ARST For forty years you took care of them in the desert. During all that time, they had everything they needed. Their clothes did not wear out. Their feet did not swell up,{ even though they were continually walking}. BSB BSB: For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
22 ARST You helped{ our ancestors} to defeat{ the armies of great} kings{ who ruled} many people.{ By doing that,} you allowed{ our ancestors} to settle in every part{ of this land}. They took over the land that King Sihon ruled from{ the city of} Heshbon and the land that King Og ruled in the Bashan{ area}. BSB BSB: You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.
23 ARST You gave so many children to{ our ancestors} that they were like the stars{ in the sky}. You brought them into this land, which you had told their parents to enter and take for themselves{ so that they could live there}. BSB BSB: You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.
24 ARST Their children went in and took the land. You enabled them to defeat the people who were living there. They were{ the descendants of} Canaan. You enabled them to conquer their kings and all the people who{ lived} there. They were able to do whatever they wanted to those people. BSB BSB: So their descendants went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land. You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land, to do with them as they wished.
25 ARST { Our ancestors} captured cities that had walls around them. They took possession of fertile fields. They took possession of houses that were already full of all kinds of good things, and wells that someone had already dug. They took possession of many vineyards and groves of olive trees and fruit trees. They ate all that they wanted and became fat. They enjoyed{ all} the many good things you did{ for them}. BSB BSB: They captured fortified cities and fertile land and took houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled; they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness.
26 ARST But they turned against you. They rejected your law. They killed the prophets who warned them that they should return to{ obeying} you. They{ said and} did very evil things{ against you}. BSB BSB: But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
27 ARST So you allowed their enemies to defeat them. But when their enemies caused them to suffer, they called out to you. You heard them from heaven, and because you are very merciful, you sent them people to help them. Those{ leaders} rescued them from their enemies. BSB BSB: So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies.
28 ARST But when there was{ a time of} peace{ again},{ our ancestors} again did evil things that you{ hated}. So you allowed their enemies to conquer{ them} and rule over them. But{ whenever} they returned to you and cried out to you again{ to help them}, you heard them from heaven. You rescued them many times, because you{ always} act mercifully. BSB BSB: But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion.
29 ARST You warned them that they should return to{ obeying} your laws{ again}. But they became proud{ and stubborn}. They would not listen to your commands. They sinned by disobeying your decrees, even though a person lives by obeying them. They purposely ignored what you commanded them to do. They became stubborn and refused to obey. BSB BSB: You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They turned a stubborn shoulder; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.
30 ARST You were patient with them for a long time. You warned them by{ the messages} your Spirit gave to your prophets. But they did not listen{ to those messages}. So again you allowed{ the armies} of the nations nearby to defeat them. BSB BSB: You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
31 ARST But because you act very mercifully, you did not destroy them completely. You never left them alone. Yes, you are a very gracious and merciful God! BSB BSB: But in Your great compassion, You did not put an end to them; nor did You forsake them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.
32 ARST Our God, you are great and mighty and awesome! You{ always} fulfill{ your} promises and{ always} faithfully love{ us}! So now{ we are praying}: Do not ignore all our difficulties. Consider all the troubles that our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all of your people have experienced. We have been experiencing these troubles since{ the armies of} the kings of Assyria{ conquered us} until now. We are still experiencing them today. BSB BSB: So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.
33 ARST { We know that} you have acted fairly in{ letting} all these things happen to us. Yes, you have treated{ us} as{ we} deserve. But we have done evil things. BSB BSB: You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.
34 ARST { In the past,} our kings, our leaders, our priests and our{ other} ancestors did not obey your laws. They did not listen to your commands or the warnings that you gave them. BSB BSB: Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.
35 ARST They had their own kings. They{ enjoyed} the many good things that you provided in this large and fertile land that you gave them. But{ even then,} they did not serve you. They would not stop doing evil things. BSB BSB: For even while they were in their kingdom, with the abundant goodness that You had given them, and in the spacious and fertile land that You had set before them, they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
36 ARST Consider our situation! Today we{ live like} slaves here in this land that you gave to our ancestors. You gave them this land so that they could enjoy all the good things that grow here. But consider us now! We are{ like} slaves on this land. BSB BSB: So here we are today as slaves in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness—here we are as slaves!
37 ARST The kings whom you have allowed to rule over us are enjoying{ all} the good things that grow here. This is because we have sinned. They rule over our bodies and our cattle. They do whatever they please. We feel great distress. BSB BSB: Its abundant harvest goes to the kings You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.
38 ARST Because of all this, we{ the Israelite people} are making a solemn agreement. We are writing it on a scroll. We will write down{ the names of} our leaders, our Levites, and our priests. Then we will seal the scroll.” BSB BSB: In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.