Common English Bible CEB
New King James Version NKJV
1 On the twenty-fourth day of this month, the people of Israel were assembled. They fasted, wore funeral clothing, and had dirt on their heads.
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Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.
2 After the Israelites separated themselves from all of the foreigners, they stood to confess their sins and the terrible behavior of their ancestors.
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Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 They stood in their place and read the Instruction scroll from the LORD their God for a quarter of the day. For another quarter of the day, they confessed and worshipped the LORD their God.
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And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.
4 On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani. They cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God.
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Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God.
5 Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said: Stand up and bless the LORD your God. From everlasting to everlasting bless your glorious name, which is high above all blessing and praise.
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And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: "Stand up and bless the Lord your God Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 You alone are the LORD. You alone made heaven, even the heaven of heavens, with all their forces. You made the earth and all that is on it, and the seas and all that is in them. You preserve them all, and the heavenly forces worship you.
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You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.
7 LORD God, you are the one who chose Abram. You brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
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"You are the Lord God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham;
8 You found him to be faithful before you, and you made a covenant with him. You promised to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. And you have kept your promise because you are righteous.
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You found his heart faithful before You, And made a covenant with him To give the land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the Amorites, The Perizzites, the Jebusites, And the Girgashites-- To give it to his descendants. You have performed Your words, For You are righteous.
9 You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Reed Sea.
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"You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea.
10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his servants, and the people of his land. You knew that they had acted arrogantly against our ancestors. You made a name for yourself, a name that is famous even today.
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You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants, And against all the people of his land. For You knew that they acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.
11 You divided the sea before them so that they went through it on dry land. But you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.
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And You divided the sea before them, So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; And their persecutors You threw into the deep, As a stone into the mighty waters.
12 With a pillar of cloud you led them by day and with a column of lightning by night; they lit the way in which the people should go.
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Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel.
13 You came down upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them proper judgments and true Instruction, good statutes and commandments.
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"You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.
14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath, and gave them commandments, statutes, and Instruction through your servant Moses.
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You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant.
15 When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven; when they were thirsty, you brought water out of the rock for them. You told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.
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You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.
16 But our ancestors acted arrogantly. They were stubborn and wouldn't obey your commandments.
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"But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments.
17 They refused to obey, and didn't remember the wonders that you accomplished in their midst. They acted arrogantly and decided to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, merciful and compassionate, very patient, and truly faithful. You didn't forsake them.
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They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.
18 Even when they had cast an image of a calf for themselves, saying, "This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt," and holding you in great contempt,
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"Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, 'This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,' And worked great provocations,
19 you, in your great mercy, didn't abandon them in the wilderness. The column of cloud continued to guide them on their journey during the day, and the column of lightning lit their path during the night.
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Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.
20 You gave your good spirit to teach them. You didn't withhold your manna from them, and you gave them water for their thirst.
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You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.
21 You kept them alive for forty years— they lacked nothing in the wilderness! Their clothes didn't wear out, and their feet didn't swell.
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Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.
22 You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and assigned to them every side. They took possession of the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.
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"Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, And divided them into districts. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, The land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan.
23 You multiplied their descendants as the stars of heaven. You brought them into the land that you had told their ancestors to enter and possess.
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You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, And brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers To go in and possess.
24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land. Before them, you subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land. You also handed over to them their kings and the neighboring peoples, to do with as they wished.
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So the people went in And possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, The Canaanites, And gave them into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might do with them as they wished.
25 They captured fortified cities and productive land, and took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things: Excavated cisterns, vineyards, olive orchards, and a great many fruit trees. They ate until they were satisfied and grew fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness.
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And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.
26 But they were disobedient, rebelled against you, and turned their back on your Instruction. They killed your prophets who had warned them so that they might return to you. They held you in great contempt.
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"Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations.
27 Therefore, you handed them over to the power of their enemies who made them suffer. But when they cried out to you in their suffering, you heard them from heaven. Because you are merciful, you gave them saviors who saved them from the power of their enemies.
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Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies.
28 But after they had rest from this, they again started doing evil against you. So you gave them over to the power of their enemies who ruled over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven and rescued them many times because of your great mercy.
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"But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
29 You also warned them to return to your Instruction, but they acted arrogantly and didn't obey your commands. They sinned against your judgments, even though life comes by keeping them. They turned a stubborn shoulder, became headstrong, and wouldn't obey.
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And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, 'Which if a man does, he shall live by them.' And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear.
30 You were patient with them for many years and warned them by your spirit through the prophets. But they wouldn't listen, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples.
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Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 In your great mercy, however, you didn't make an end of them. Neither did you forsake them, because you are a merciful and compassionate God.
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Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.
32 Now, our God, great and mighty and awesome God, you are the one who faithfully keeps the covenant. Don't treat lightly all of the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings, our officials, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people, from the time of the kings of Assyria until today.
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"Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.
33 You have been just in all that has happened to us; you have acted faithfully, and we have done wrong.
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However You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly.
34 Our kings, our officials, our priests, and our ancestors haven't kept your Instruction. They haven't heeded your commandments and the warnings that you gave them.
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Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, With which You testified against them.
35 Even in their own kingdom, surrounded by the great goodness that you gave to them, even in the wide and rich land that you gave them, they didn't serve you or turn from their wicked works.
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For they have not served You in their kingdom, Or in the many good things that You gave them, Or in the large and rich land which You set before them; Nor did they turn from their wicked works.
36 So now today we are slaves, slaves in the land that you gave to our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts.
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"Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it!
37 Its produce profits the kings whom you have placed over us because of our sins. They have power over our bodies and do as they please with our livestock. We are in great distress.
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And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, Because of our sins; Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress.
38 Because of all this, we are making a firm agreement in writing, with the names of our officials, our Levites, and our priests on the seal.
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"And because of all this, We make a sure covenant, and write it; Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it."
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.