The {Or, history}words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
Now it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the {Or, castle}palace,
that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, that were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
and said, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments:
let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father's house have sinned:
we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples:
but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.
Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Querverweise zu Nehemia 1,6 Neh 1,6
Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day;
It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And Samuel was wroth; and he cried unto Jehovah all night.
and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens.
And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not even with you {Hebrew: guiltinesses.}trespasses of your own against Jehovah your God?
that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place whereof thou hast said, My name shall be there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place.
Evening, and morning, and at noonday, will I complain, and moan;And he will hear my voice.
Since the days of our fathers we have been {Hebrew: in great guiltiness.}exceeding guilty unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of Jehovah, and turned their backs.
Now, O my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place.
A Song, a Psalm of the sons of Korah; for the Chief Musician; set to Mahalath {Or, for singing}Leannoth. Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.O Jehovah, the God of my salvation,I have cried day and night before thee.
Now therefore {Or, give thanks}make confession unto Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.
We have sinned with our fathers,We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous,And his ears are open unto their cry.
and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee,And mine iniquity did I not hide:I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah;And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. [Selah
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.
Lord, hear my voice:Let thine ears be attentiveTo the voice of my supplications.
And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, {Or, and is he slow to punish on their behalf?}and yet he is longsuffering over them?
For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Our fathers sinned, and are not;And we have borne their iniquities.
Now therefore, O our God, hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, hath her hope set on God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast {Hebrew: melted.}consumed us by means of our iniquities.
among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the {Greek: thoughts.}mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:—
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not {Hebrew: cause to fall.}present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies' sake.
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience, how unceasing is my remembrance of thee in my supplications, night and day
Wherefore doth a living man complain, {Or, a man that is in his sins}a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah.
Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
We have transgressed and have rebelled; thou hast not pardoned.
And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments,
And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God;
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.