Nehemiah 9:16-37

16But our ancestors turned away from you. They would not agree to obey your commands.

17They refused to obey you. They forgot about all the miracles that you had done to help them. Instead, they turned against you. They chose a leader to take them back to Egypt, where they had been slaves. But you are a God who forgives people. You are kind to people. You are slow to get angry and your love for your people always continues. So you did not leave your people alone.

18Our ancestors made an image of a young cow to be their god. They said to each other, “This is our god who brought us out of Egypt.” They insulted you in that way, but you still did not turn away from your people.

19You were kind to them while they travelled in the desert. You continued to lead them with a pillar of cloud in the day. At night, you continued to show them the way with a pillar of fire. So they always knew which way to go.

20You gave them your good Spirit to teach them what to do. You continued to give them manna from heaven to eat. You gave them water from a rock to drink.

21During 40 years you took care of them in the desert. Their clothes did not spoil. Their feet did not become big with pain.

22You gave kingdoms and nations to your people. The borders of their land reached a long way. The land of King Sihon of Heshbon became their own land. So did the land of King Og of Bashan.

23You caused your people to have many descendants, as many as the stars in the sky. You brought them to the land that you had promised to their ancestors. You had told them to go and live in it.

24Their descendants went there and they took the land for themselves. You gave them power over the Canaanites and the other kings and nations who lived there. They could do whatever they wanted with those people.

25They took their strong cities and their good land for themselves. The houses of those people were full of many good things. Your people could use the things that were already there. They had their wells, their vineyards, their olive trees and other fruit trees. They had as much food as they could eat, so they became fat. The many good things that you gave them made them very happy.

26But your people did not obey you. They turned against you. They stopped obeying your laws. You sent your prophets to warn your people to return to you. But they killed the prophets that you sent to them. Your people insulted you in many bad ways.

27So you put them under the power of their enemies. And their enemies were cruel to them. Then your people called to you for help because they were in trouble. You heard them from your home in heaven. Because you are so kind, you gave them strong leaders. And those leaders saved them from their enemies.

28But when your people were living safely again, they did evil things again. So you left them to the power of their enemies. Your people called to you again for help. You heard them again from your home in heaven. Because you are so kind, you rescued them like that many times.

29You warned them to obey your laws. But they refused to listen to you. They did not obey your commands. You had given them rules which would help them to have true life if they obeyed them. But they would not obey your laws. They turned away from you and they continued to do bad things.

30You continued to help your people for many years. You sent your prophets to tell them messages from your Spirit. You warned them, but they refused to listen. So you put them under the power of the nations who lived near them.

31But because you are very kind, you did not turn away from them or destroy them. You are a God who is very kind and you forgive people.

32So we pray to you, our God. You are great and powerful. You continue to love your people as you have promised in your covenant with us. Please see how much trouble has come to us! Our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets and our ancestors and your people all belong to you. We have all had many great troubles since the time that the kings of Assyria attacked us.

33But when you punished us like that, you were right to do it. You have always been faithful. It is us who have done wicked things.

34Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our ancestors have not obeyed your laws. They have not listened to your commands. You warned them but they would not listen.

35When they had their own kingdom, they still would not agree to serve you. You gave them a good land to live in, with plenty of food. They enjoyed your good gifts, but they would not obey you. They did not stop doing evil things.

36So today we live like slaves. Yes, we are slaves in the land that you gave to our ancestors. You wanted them to enjoy all the good things that grow here.

37But because of our sins you have caused foreign kings to rule over us. They take the food that grows in our fields. They use us and our animals in any way that they like. So we are very upset!’