1 ¶ Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month, the sons of Israel were assembled with fasting and with sackcloth and earth upon them.

Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth on them.

2 A nd the seed of Israel had separated themselves from all strangers and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

3 A nd they stood up in their place and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed and worshipped the LORD their God.

They stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Yahweh their God a fourth part of the day; and a fourth part they confessed, and worshiped Yahweh their God.

4 ¶ Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God.

Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani of the Levites stood up on the stairs, and cried with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.

5 T hen the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever; and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting! Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

6 T hou, O LORD, art alone; thou hast made the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, the seas and all that is therein, and thou givest life to them all; and the host of the heavens worship thee.

You are Yahweh, even you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. The army of heaven worships you.

7 T hou art, O LORD, the God who didst choose Abram and didst bring him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees and didst give him the name of Abraham

You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham,

8 a nd didst find his heart faithful before thee and didst make a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it, to his seed and hast performed thy word; for thou art righteous.

and found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his offspring, and have performed your words; for you are righteous.

9 A nd thou didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and didst hear their cry by the Red sea

“You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea,

10 a nd didst show signs and wonders upon Pharaoh and on all his slaves and on all the people of his land; for thou didst know that they had dealt proudly against them. So didst thou make thee a name, as it is this day.

and showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and against all his servants, and against all the people of his land; for you knew that they dealt proudly against them, and made a name for yourself, as it is today.

11 A nd thou didst divide the sea before them so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou didst throw into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.

12 M oreover, thou didst lead them by day with a pillar of cloud and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light in the way by which they should go.

Moreover, in a pillar of cloud you led them by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way in which they should go.

13 T hou didst come down upon Mount Sinai and didst speak with them from heaven and didst give them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments,

“You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments,

14 a nd didst make known unto them the sabbath of thy holiness and didst prescribe for them commandments, statutes, and law by the hand of Moses, thy slave.

and made known to them your holy Sabbath, and commanded them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by Moses your servant,

15 A nd thou didst give them bread from heaven in their hunger and didst bring forth water for them out of the rock in their thirst and didst promise them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

and gave them bread from the sky for their hunger, and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst, and commanded them that they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them.

16 B ut they and our fathers dealt proudly and hardened their necks and did not hearken unto thy commandments

“But they and our fathers dealt proudly and hardened their neck, didn’t listen to your commandments,

17 a nd refused to hear; neither did they remember thy wonders that thou hadst done among them, but hardened their necks and in their rebellion thought to appoint a leader to return to their bondage; but thou art a God of pardons, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great mercy, for thou didst not leave them.

and refused to obey, neither were they mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and didn’t forsake them.

18 E ven when they had made themselves a molten calf and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had committed great abominations;

Yes, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed awful blasphemies;

19 y et thou in thy manifold mercies didst not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither did the pillar of fire by night, to illuminate the way in which they should go.

yet you in your manifold mercies didn’t forsake them in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud didn’t depart from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go.

20 T hou didst give thy good spirit to teach them and didst not withhold thy manna from their mouth and didst give them water for their thirst.

You gave also your good Spirit to instruct them, and didn’t withhold your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.

21 Y ea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness so that they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wax old, and their feet did not swell.

“Yes, forty years you sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing. Their clothes didn’t grow old, and their feet didn’t swell.

22 T hou didst give them kingdoms and peoples and didst divide them into corners; so they possessed the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of Og, king of Bashan.

Moreover you gave them kingdoms and peoples, which you allotted according to their portions. So they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 T hou didst multiply their sons as the stars of heaven and didst introduce them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to inherit it.

You also multiplied their children as the stars of the sky, and brought them into the land concerning which you said to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

24 S o the sons came in and possessed the land, and thou didst humble the inhabitants of the land before them, the Canaanites, and didst give them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.

“So the children went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings, and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they pleased.

25 A nd they took strong cities and fertile land and inherited houses full of all goods, hewn cisterns, vineyards and oliveyards and many trees of good fruit; so they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

They took fortified cities, and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns dug out, vineyards, and olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled, became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness.

26 N evertheless, they were contentious and rebelled against thee and cast thy law behind their backs and slew thy prophets who testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great abominations.

“Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against you, and cast your law behind their back, and killed your prophets that testified against them to turn them again to you, and they committed awful blasphemies.

27 T herefore, thou didst deliver them into the hand of their enemies, who afflicted them; and in the time of their tribulation, they cried unto thee, thou didst hear them from the heavens; and according to thy manifold mercies thou didst give them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them. In the time of their trouble, when they cried to you, you heard from heaven; and according to your manifold mercies you gave them saviors who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries.

28 B ut after they had rest, they did evil again before thee; therefore, thou didst leave them in the hand of their enemies so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned and cried unto thee, thou didst hear them from the heavens; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies

But after they had rest, they did evil again before you; therefore left you them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned, and cried to you, you heard from heaven; and many times you delivered them according to your mercies,

29 a nd didst protest unto them, that they return unto thy law; yet they dealt proudly and did not hearken unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments (which if a man shall do, in them he shall live) and withdrew the shoulder and hardened their neck and would not hear.

and testified against them, that you might bring them again to your law. Yet they dealt proudly, and didn’t listen to your commandments, but sinned against your ordinances, (which if a man does, he shall live in them), turned their backs, stiffened their neck, and would not hear.

30 Y et many years didst thou forbear them and didst protest against them with thy spirit by the hand of thy prophets; yet they did not hear; therefore, thou didst give them into the hand of the peoples of the land.

Yet many years you put up with them, and testified against them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet would they not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

31 N evertheless, for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

“Nevertheless in your manifold mercies you did not make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.

32 N ow, therefore, our God, the great, mighty, and terrible God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that has come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, on our priests, on our prophets, on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.

Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness, don’t let all the travail seem little before you, that has come on us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day.

33 H owbeit thou art just in all that has come upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly;

However you are just in all that has come on us; for you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly;

34 n either have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, with which thou didst testify against them.

neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept your law, nor listened to your commandments and your testimonies with which you testified against them.

35 F or they did not serve thee in their kingdom and in thy great goodness that thou didst give them and in the large and fat land which thou didst deliver before them; neither did they turn from their wicked works.

For they have not served you in their kingdom, and in your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land which you gave before them, neither did they turn from their wicked works.

36 B ehold, we are slaves this day, behold us here, slaves in the land which thou didst give unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof.

“Behold, we are servants today, and as for the land that you gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its good, behold, we are servants in it.

37 A nd it multiplies its fruit for the kings, whom thou hast set over us because of our sins, who have dominion over our bodies and over our cattle, according to their will, and we are in great distress.

It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our livestock, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

38 A nd because of all this, we make a sure covenant and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests seal unto it.

Yet for all this, we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal it.”