The People Confess Their Sins

1And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel were assembled with fasting, and in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads. 2And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all the sons of a foreigner, and they stood and confessed concerning their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

3And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of YHWH their God for a fourth of the day, and a fourth they confessed and bowed low to YHWH their God.

4And there stood on the ascent, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they cried out in a loud voice to YHWH their God. 5And the Levites said—Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah: “Rise and bless YHWH your⁺ God from forever even to forever!

And blessed be the name of your glory,

and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

6You are He, YHWH, You alone;

You have made the heavens,

the heavens of the heavens, and all their host,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them,

and You give life to all things,

and the host of the heavens gives worship to You.

7You are He, YHWH,

the God who chose Abram

and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldeans,

and you set his name to be Abraham.

8And You found his heart faithful before You,

and You cut with him a covenant

to give him the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite,

the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite,

to give it to his seed.

And You made stand Your words,

for You are righteous.

9And You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,

and their cry You heard at at the Red Sea.†

10And You gave forth signs and wonders against Pharaoh,

and against all his servants, and against all the people of his land.

For You knew that they seethed against them,

and You made for Yourself a name

as it is this day.

11And You divided the sea before them,

and they passed over in the midst of the sea on the dry land.

And those pursuing them You threw into the depths,

like a stone into mighty waters.

12And by a pillar of cloud You led them by day,

and by a pillar of fire by night,

to give light for them,

on the way that they should walk in it.

13And upon Mount Sinai You came down

and spoke with them from the heavens,

and You gave to them straight ordinances and true instructions,

good statutes and commandments.

14And the Sabbath of Your holiness You made known to them,

and the commands and statutes and instructions You commanded to them

by the hand of Moses Your servant.

15And bread from the heavens You gave to them for their hunger,

and water from the rock you brought forth to them for their thirst,

and You said to them to go in to possess the land

that You lifted Your hand to give to them.

16And they and our fathers seethed and hardened their necks,

and they did not listen to Your commandments.

17And they refused to hear, and they did not remember

Your wonders that You did among them;

and they hardened their necks and appointed a leader

for returning to their slavery in Egypt.†

And You are a God of forgiveness,

gracious and compassionate,

long of nostrils and abounding in loving devotion—

and You did not forsake them.

18For they also made for themselves

a calf molten and said,

‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’

and they did great blasphemies,

19and You, great in Your mercies,

did not forsake them in the wilderness.

The pillar of the cloud He did not turn aside from them by day,

to lead them on the path;

and the pillar of the fire by night,

to shine on them, and on the way that they should walk in it.

20And Your good Spirit You gave

to give them understanding,

and Your manna You did not withhold from their lips,

and water you gave to them for their thirst.

21And forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;

they did not lack.

Their clothes did not wear out,

and their feet did not swell.

22And You gave to them kingdoms and nations,

and You portioned them to the corner.

And they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon,†

and the land of Og king of Bashan.

23And their children You multiplied

as the stars of the heavens,

and You brought them into the land

of which You had said to their fathers

to enter to possess it.

24And the sons came and possessed the land,

and You humbled before their faces the dwellers of the land of the Canaanites,

and You gave them into their hands and their kings,

and the people of the land,

to do with them according to their pleasure.

25And they took fortified cities and a rich land,

and they possessed houses full of all good,

wells dug,

vineyards, and olive groves and trees of fruit in abundance.

And they ate and were filled

and grew fat and lived luxuriously in Your great goodness.

26And they were disobedient and rebelled against You,

and they cast Your law behind their backs,

and Your prophets they killed,

those who testified against them, so as to turn them back to You,

and they did great blasphemies.

27And You gave them into the hand of their enemies,

and they brought distress to them.

And in the time of their distress they cried to You,

and You from the heavens heard,

and according to Your abundant mercies You gave to them saviors,

and they saved them from the hand of their enemies.

28And after rest for them,

again they did evil before You,

and you left them to the hand of their enemies,

and they ruled over them.

And they returned and cried out to You,

and You from the heavens heard,

and You delivered them according to Your mercies

many times.

29And you testified against them to bring them back to Your instruction,

and they still seethed and did not listen to Your commands.

And Your just laws they sinned against,

which if a man does them, he shall live by them;

and they gave to be stubborn the shoulder,

and their neck they hardened, and they would not listen.

30And You drew over them many years,

and You testified with them by Your Spirit, by the hand of Your prophets.

And they would not give an ear,

and You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

31And in Your great mercies

You did not make of them a complete end,

nor did You abandon them,

for You are a gracious and merciful God.

32And now, our God—

the God the great, the mighty, and fearsome,

keeping the covenant and the kindness,

should not all the hardship that has found us

seem little before Your face—

for our kings, for our princes,

and for our priests, and for our prophets,

and for our fathers, and for all Your people,

from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.

33And You are righteous over all that has come upon us,

for faithfully You have acted,

and we have been wicked.

34And our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers,

they have not done Your law,

and they have not attended to Your commandments

and to Your testimonies that You testified against them.

35And they, in their kingdom,

in your abundant goodness,

that You gave to them,

and in the land broad and rich

that You gave before their face,

they did not serve You,

and not did they turn away from their evil deeds.

36Behold! We are this day slaves,

and the land that You gave to our fathers

to eat its fruit and its goodness,

behold—we are slaves in it.

37And its produce is multiplying for the kings

whom You have given to be over us in our sins,

and over our bodies to be ruling,

and over our livestock according to their pleasure,

and we are in great distress.

38And in all this we are cutting a firm covenant, and writing even on the sealed document our leaders, our Levites, and our priests.”