Nehemiah 9:16-37

16But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 17And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst perform among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.1 18Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; 19Yet thou in thy great mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from 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. 20Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. 21Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out, and their feet swelled not. 22Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, 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. 23Their children also didst multiply thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou didst promise to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it . 24So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou didst subdue before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.2 25And they took strong cities, and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all goods, dug wells, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they ate, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.34 26Nevertheless they were disobedient, 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 provocations. 27Therefore thou didst deliver them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried to thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy great mercies thou gavest them deliverers, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. 28But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore thou leftest them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried to thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;5 29And didst testify against them, that thou mightest bring them again to thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man doeth, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.6 30Yet many years didst thou forbear over them, and didst testify against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not listen: therefore thou gavest them into the hand of the people of the lands.78 31Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. 32Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day.910 33But thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: 34Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened to thy commandments and thy testimonies, with which thou didst testify against them. 35For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and rich land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. 36Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest to our fathers to eat the fruit of it and the good of it, behold, we are servants in it: 37And it yieldeth much increase to the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.