The Israelites confess their sins
1 On the twenty-fourth day of that same month, the Israelites assembled to fast. They put on sackcloth and sprinkled dust upon their heads.
2 The race of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners; they stood and confessed their sins and those of their ancestors.
3 They stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of Yahweh, their God, for three hours. For another three hours, they con fessed their sins and bowed before Yahweh, their God.
4 Joshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Chenani stood on the platform of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to Yahweh, their God.
5 Then the Levites: Joshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Sheba niah and Pethaliah said, “Arise, bless Yah weh, our God, forever and ever. Blessed be your glorious Name which is beyond all blessing and praise.”
Prayer of Ezra
6 Then Ezra said, “You, Yahweh, you alone made the heavens, the heaven of heavens, and all their army, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all, and all the angels of heaven adore you.
7 You, Yahweh, are the God who chose Abram; you brought him out of Ur of Chaldea, and gave him the name Abraham.
8 You found him faithful to you and made with him the Covenant to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebu site and the Gir ga sh ite. And you have fulfilled your word, for you are just.
9 You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and listened to their cry by the Red Sea.
10 You worked signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his ministers and all his people, for you knew that they had treated us harshly, and you have received fame to this day.
11 You divided the sea before our ancestors who passed through the midst of the sea without their feet getting wet. You cast their pursuers into the depths of the sea, as stones fall into the deep waters.
12 You guided them by day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to light for them the way they should follow.
13 You came down upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven; you gave them just decisions and laws that express truth, excellent precepts and com mand ments.
14 You taught them to consecrate the sabbath to you; you gave them commandments, precepts and the Law, through the hand of Moses, your servant.
15 You gave them bread from heaven and told them to satisfy their hunger; you made water gush forth from the rock to quench their thirst, and commanded them to go and take possession of the land which you had sworn to give them.
16 But our fathers became proud and hard-headed, and they did not listen to your commands.
17 They refused to listen and to remember all the marvels you did for them. They hardened their hearts rebelliously and wanted to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you, God of forgiveness, mer ci ful and gracious, slow to anger and rich in kindness, did not abandon them.
18 They even made for themselves a molten calf and said: ‘This is your god, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt,’ and they terribly insulted you and blasphemed you.
19 But you, in your great kindness, did not abandon them in the desert; the pillar of cloud did not de part from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, by which you showed them the way they should take.
20 You gave them your good Spirit to instruct them; you gave them manna so they could eat, and water to quench their thirst.
21 Forty years you cared for them in the desert and they lacked nothing, neither did their clothes wear out or their feet swell.
22 You gave them kingdoms and lands; you allotted to them the frontier lands. They took possession of the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan.
23 And you multiplied their sons as the stars of heaven, bringing them to the land you promised their fathers.
24 Their children entered and took possession of the land. Before them you crushed the land’s inhabitants, the Ca na anites whom you gave into their hands with their kings and all the in ha bitants, to do to them as they pleased.
25 They conquered fortified cities and a fertile land, took possession of houses well-stocked, wells ready-hewn, vineyards and olive groves, and fruit trees in great abundance. They ate, were satisfied and grew fat, and they lived com fortably by your great kindness.
26 But then, they were disobedient and they rebelled against you. They threw your Law behind their backs, they killed your prophets and they terribly blasphemed you.
27 You handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them. In their oppression they cried to you, and you listened to them from heaven, so by your immense kindness, you sent them saviors who freed them from their op pressors.
28 But when they were at peace, they did evil against you again, and you gave them over to the hands of the enemies who oppressed them. Once more they cried to you, and you listened to them from heaven, and by your great kindness you saved them many times.
29 Insistently, you asked them to return to your Law, but they were very proud, so they did not listen to your com mands and decisions. They did not observe what people should fulfill to have life. They turned their backs and did not listen to you for they were hard-headed.
30 You were patient with them for many years. You admonished them by your Spirit through the mouth of the prophets; but they did not listen. Then you gave them over into the hands of the peoples of these coun tries.
31 But because of your great kindness, you did not let them be destroyed, nor did you abandon them, for you are a God of kindness and mercy.
32 Now then, our God, great, po wer ful and fearsome God, you who keep your covenant and your love, take into account this misery which has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, our priests and pro phets, upon our fathers and all your people since the time of the kings of Assyria to the present day.
33 You have shown yourself just in all that has happened, for you have faithfully fulfilled your promises, but we have acted wickedly.
34 Our kings and leaders, our priests and our fathers did not keep your Law, they did not follow your commandments or the norms you gave them.
35 While they were in their king-doms, enjoying the prosperity that came from you and the very fertile and wide land you had prepared for them, they did not serve you nor did they turn away from their wick ed deeds.
36 See, we are now slaves, en slaved in the land you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruits and its goodness.
37 The abundant fruits of the land go to the kings you have set over us because of our sins. They do what they please with us and our livestock, and because of this we live in great distress.”
------------------------------------------------------------
Comments Nehemiah, Chapter 9
• 9.1 We must relate this penance ceremony with chapters 9 and 10 of Ezra. It deals with asking forgiveness for the sins which separate people from God’s law and are harmful to the race of Israel. They stress es pe cially the sin of marrying women of another race and a different reli gion: the Bible knows that marrying someone of another religion often brings a person to move away from their own religious community. This was Solomon’s sin.
After publicly confessing the faults of the community, they remember God’s mercy: it is use less to know the sins if feelings of inner re pentance are not aroused in remembering how God always forgives generously. Following, we have a summary of sacred history showing God’s mercy towards his people.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, several com mitments are made: these are necessary to counter the weakness of the will, and to aid the struggle against laxity. It is not merely a question of rules; the risk consists in paying more attention to external observance than to the spirit of the Law whose goal is to form a people always ready to serve God.