Daily Bible CEV March 16 Verses

The People Confess Their Sins

Nehemiah 9 On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, the people of Israel went without eating, and they dressed in sackcloth and threw dirt on their heads to show their sorrow. ²They refused to let foreigners join them, as they met to confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors. ³For three hours they stood and listened to the Law of the LORD their God, and then for the next three hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the LORD.

⁴Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the special platform for the Levites and prayed aloud to the LORD their God. ⁵Then the Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said:

"Stand and shout praises to your LORD,

the eternal God!

Praise his wonderful name,

though he is greater than words can express."

The People Pray

⁶You alone are the LORD, Creator of the heavens

and all the stars,

Creator of the earth and those who live on it,

Creator of the ocean and all its creatures.

You are the source of life, praised by the stars

that fill the heavens.

⁷You are the LORD our God, the one who chose Abram--

you brought him from Ur in Babylonia

and named him Abraham.

⁸Because he was faithful,

you made an agreement to give his descendants

the land of the Canaanites and Hittites,

of the Amorites and Perizzites,

and of the Jebusites and Girgashites.

Now you have kept your promise, just as you always do.

⁹When our ancestors were in Egypt,

you saw their suffering;

when they were at the Red Sea,

you heard their cry for help.

¹⁰You knew that the King of Egypt

and his officials and his nation

had mistreated your people.

So you worked fearsome miracles against the Egyptians

and earned a reputation that still remains.

¹¹You divided the deep sea, and your people walked through

on dry land.

But you tossed their enemies in, and they sank down

like a heavy stone.

¹²Each day you led your people with a thick cloud,

and at night you showed the way with a flaming fire.

¹³At Sinai you came down from heaven,

and you gave your people good laws and teachings

that are fair and honest.

¹⁴You commanded them to respect your holy Sabbath,

and you instructed your servant Moses

to teach them your laws.

¹⁵When they were hungry, you sent bread from heaven,

and when they were thirsty,

you let water flow from a rock.

Then you commanded them to capture the land

that you had solemnly promised.

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