Neh 8:9-12, Neh 9, Psa 30:5, 126:1-2, 5-6, Isa 22:12-13, Mat 9:15 | ESV | STEP | And Nehemiah , who was the governor , and Ezra the priest and scribe , and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people , This day is holy to the Lord your God ; do not mourn or weep . For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law .

9 And Nehemiah, who was ^athe governor, and Ezra ^bthe priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ^c“This day is holy to the Lord your God; ^ddo not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and ^esend portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because ^fthey had understood the words that were declared to them.

Nehemiah 9

The People of Israel Confess Their Sin

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^gthis month the people of Israel were assembled ^hwith fasting ⁱand in sackcloth, ^jand with earth on their heads. 2 ^kAnd the Israelites ^{▼▼Hebrew the offspring of Israel} separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 ^mAnd they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. 4 On the stairs of the Levites stood ⁿJeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried 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. ^oBlessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

6 ^{▼▼Septuagint adds And Ezra said} ^q“You are the Lord, you alone. ^rYou have made heaven, ^sthe heaven of heavens, ^twith all their host, ^uthe earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; ^vand you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the Lord, the God ^wwho chose Abram and brought him out of ^xUr of the Chaldeans ^yand gave him the name Abraham. 8 ^zYou found his heart faithful before you, ^aaand made with him the covenant to give to his offspring ^abthe land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. ^acAnd you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

9 ^ad“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard ^aetheir cry at the Red Sea, 10 ^afand performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that ^agthey acted arrogantly against our fathers. And ^ahyou made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. 11 ^aiAnd you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, ^ajas a stone into mighty waters. 12 By ^aka pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. 13 ^alYou came down on Mount Sinai ^amand spoke with them from heaven and gave them ^anright rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 ^aoand you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15 ^apYou gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and ^aqbrought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you ^artold them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

16 “But they and our fathers ^asacted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. 17 They refused to obey ^atand were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, ^augracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. 18 Even ^avwhen they had made for themselves a golden ^{▼▼Hebrew metal} calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ ^axand had committed great blasphemies, 19 you ^ayin your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. ^azThe pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, ^banor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. 20 ^bbYou gave your good Spirit to instruct them ^bcand did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. 21 ^bdForty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

22 “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. ^beSo they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon ^bfand the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You multiplied their children ^bgas the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. 24 ^bhSo the descendants went in and possessed the land, ^biand you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25 And they captured ^bjfortified cities and ^bka rich land, and took possession of ^blhouses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled ^bmand became fat and delighted themselves in ^bnyour great goodness.

26 ^bo“Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you ^bpand cast your law behind their back ^bqand killed your prophets, who ^brhad warned them in order to turn them back to you, ^bsand they committed great blasphemies. 27 ^btTherefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. ^buAnd in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them ^bvsaviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. 28 ^bwBut after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, ^bxand many times you delivered them according to your mercies. 29 ^byAnd you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet ^bzthey acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, ^cawhich if a person does them, he shall live by them, ^cband they turned a stubborn shoulder ^ccand stiffened their neck and would not obey. 30 Many years ^cdyou bore with them ^ceand warned them ^cfby your Spirit through your prophets. ^cgYet they would not give ear. ^chTherefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, ^ciin your great mercies ^cjyou did not make an end of them or forsake them, ^ckfor you are a gracious and merciful God.

32 “Now, therefore, our God, ^clthe great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, ^cmsince the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 ^cnYet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully ^coand we have acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. 35 Even in their own kingdom, ^cpand amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and ^cqrich land that you set before them, ^crthey did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. 36 Behold, ^cswe are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. 37 ^ctAnd its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.

38 ^{▼▼Ch 10:1 in Hebrew} “Because of all this ^cvwe make a firm covenant in writing; on ^cwthe sealed document are the names of ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks the names of} our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

Psalms 30:5

5 ^cyFor his anger is but for a moment,
and ^czhis favor is for a lifetime. ^{▼▼Or and in his favor is life}
^dbWeeping may tarry for the night,
but ^dcjoy comes with the morning.

Psalms 126:1-2

Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

A Song of ^ddAscents.

1 When the Lord ^derestored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who ^dfdream.
2 Then our ^dgmouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
^dh“The Lord has done great things for them.”

Psalms 126:5-6

5 ^diThose who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

Isaiah 22:12-13

12 In that day ^djthe Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for ^dkbaldness and ^dlwearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
^dm“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”

Matthew 9:15

15 And Jesus said to them, ^dn“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^doThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^dpthen they will fast.

Nehemiah 8:9-12

This Day Is Holy