Nehemiah 9:16-37 »Even when they made for themselves a bull out of metal, and said: ‘This is your God who took you up out of Egypt, and had done so much to make you angry.’

NSB⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹⁸ »Even when they made for themselves a bull out of metal, and said: ‘This is your God who took you up out of Egypt, and had done so much to make you angry.’ ¹⁹ »Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go. ²⁰ »You gave your good Spirit to be their teacher. You did not hold back your manna from their mouths. You gave them water when they had need of it. ²¹ »Truly, for forty years you were their support in the wilderness. They needed nothing. Their clothing did not get old or their feet become tired. ²² »You gave them kingdoms and peoples, making distribution to them in every part of the land. They took for their heritage the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan. ²³ »You made their children as great in number as the stars of heaven. You took them into the land, of which you had said to their fathers that they were to go in and take it for themselves. ²⁴ »So the children went in and took the land. You overcame before them the people of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them up into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them whatever it was their pleasure to do. ²⁵ »And they took walled towns and a fat land. They became the owners of houses full of all good things, water-holes cut in the rock, vine-gardens and olive-gardens and a wealth of fruit-trees. They had food enough and became fat, and had joy in the good you gave them. ²⁶ »But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority. They turned their backs on your law, and murdered your prophets. These prophets gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you. They did much to make you angry. ²⁷ »So you gave them up into the hands of their enemies who were cruel to them. In the time of their trouble, when they prayed to you, you listened to them from heaven. In your great mercy you gave them saviors, who made them free from the hands of their enemies. ²⁸ »When they had rest, they did evil again before you: so you gave them into the hands of their enemies who ruled over them. When they came back and prayed to you, you listened to them from heaven; again and again, in your mercy, you gave them salvation. ²⁹ »You admonished them so that you might make them come back again to your law. Their hearts were lifted up, and they paid no attention to your orders. They went against your life giving decisions and turned their backs on you. They were stubborn and did not listen. ³⁰ »You put up with them for years. You admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they did not listen. So you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ »Even then, in your great mercy, you did not put an end to them completely, or give them up; for you are a God of grace (loving-kindness) and mercy. ³² »Now, our God, the great, the strong, the God who is to be respected, who keeps faith and mercy, do not let his trouble seem small to you. It has come on us, and on our kings and our rulers and on our priests and our prophets and our fathers and on all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria till this day. ³³ »You have been in the right in everything that happened to us. You have been true to us, but we have done evil! ³⁴ »Our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers have not obeyed your Law or given attention to your orders and your witness, with which you gave witness against them. ³⁵ »They have not been your servants in their kingdom! In all the good things you gave them, and in the great and fat land you gave them they have not turned away from their evil doing. ³⁶ »Today, we are servants! As for the land you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it! ³⁷ »And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins. They have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble. ¹⁶ »But they and our fathers, in their pride, made their necks stiff, and paid no attention to your orders. ¹⁷ »They would not obey you and gave no thought to the wonders you did among them. They became stubborn and turning away from you. They appointed a leader over themselves to take them back to their prison in Egypt. However, you are a God of forgiveness, full of grace and pity, slow to wrath and great in mercy, and you did not give them up.