Nehemia 9

Bagian: Umat Israel mengaku dosa

1 Pada hari kedua puluh empat, masih di bulan ketujuh, seluruh rakyat Israel berkumpul untuk mengaku dosa. Mereka berpuasa, memakai kain karung, dan menaruh abu di atas kepala sebagai tanda berkabung karena dosa mereka sendiri. Mereka sudah memisahkan diri dari semua orang yang bukan bangsa Israel. Mereka berdoa mengakui dosa-dosa dan kesalahan-kesalahan mereka maupun nenek moyang mereka. 3 Selama tiga jam, kitab Taurat dibacakan kepada mereka, dan selama tiga jam berikutnya mereka mengaku dosa di hadapan TUHAN sambil bersujud menyembah Dia. 4 Sekelompok orang Lewi— yaitu Yesua, Bani, Kadmiel, Sebanya, Buni, Serebya, Bani, dan Kenani— berdiri di panggung. Mereka memanjatkan doa dengan nyaring kepada TUHAN Allah. 5 Selanjutnya, Yesua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hasabneya, Serebya, Hodia, Sebanya, dan Petahya berkata, “Berdirilah dan pujilah TUHAN Allahmu yang hidup selama-lamanya!”
Lalu mereka berdoa, “Ya, Allah yang mulia, biarlah Engkau dipuji dan diagungkan dengan segala hormat!

Bagian: Sejak penciptaan

6 Ya Allah, Engkaulah TUHAN yang Mahaesa.
Engkau yang menciptakan seluruh tingkat surga dan langit, bumi dan segala isinya,
serta lautan dan semua yang ada di dalamnya.
Engkau yang memberi kehidupan bagi segala makhluk.
Pasukan malaikat surgawi pun bersujud menyembah-Mu.

Bagian: Dari zaman Abraham

7 Engkaulah TUHAN Allah yang sudah memilih Abram.
Engkau membawa dia keluar dari Ur di wilayah Babel
dan mengubah namanya menjadi Abraham. 8 Engkau mengetahui bahwa dia setia kepada-Mu,
maka Engkau mengadakan perjanjian dengannya untuk memberikan negeri yang didiami bangsa Kanaan, Het, Amori, Feris, Yebus, dan Girgasi kepada anak cucunya.
Engkau sudah menepati janji-Mu itu,
karena Engkau adil dan setia.

Bagian: Dari perbudakan Israel di Mesir

9 Engkau melihat penderitaan nenek moyang kami di negeri Mesir
dan mendengar jeritan mereka minta tolong di tepi Laut Merah. 10 Maka Engkau melakukan perbuatan dahsyat dan membuat keajaiban melawan raja Mesir, para pejabatnya, dan seluruh rakyatnya,
sebab Engkau tahu betapa kejamnya mereka terhadap nenek moyang kami.
Karena perbuatan ajaib-Mu itu, Engkau ditakuti bangsa-bangsa sampai sekarang. 11 Engkau membelah Laut Merah di hadapan nenek moyang kami
sehingga mereka bisa menyeberang melalui tanah yang kering.
Ke dalam laut Engkau menenggelamkan pasukan Mesir yang mengejar mereka,
bagaikan batu dilempar ke dasar lautan yang bergelora.

Bagian: Dari waktu Israel hidup di padang belantara

12 Di padang belantara, Engkau menuntun mereka dengan tiang awan pada siang hari,
dan pada waktu malam, Engkau menerangi jalan mereka dengan tiang berapi. 13 Dari surga Engkau turun ke atas gunung Sinai dan berbicara kepada mereka.
Engkau memberi mereka peraturan-peraturan dan ketetapan-ketetapan yang adil
serta hukum-hukum dan perintah-perintah yang baik. 14 Melalui hamba-Mu Musa, Engkau mengajar mereka untuk menjaga kesucian hari Sabat-Mu
dan memberikan berbagai perintah, ketetapan, serta hukum kepada mereka. 15 Ketika umat-Mu lapar, Engkau menyediakan roti surgawi yang disebut manna.
Ketika mereka haus, Engkau mengeluarkan air dari sebuah batu.
Engkau memerintahkan mereka untuk merebut dan menduduki negeri yang sudah Engkau janjikan kepada mereka. 16 Tetapi nenek moyang kami sombong.
Mereka keras kepala dan tidak menaati perintah-perintah-Mu. 17 Mereka menolak untuk taat.
Mereka lupa hal-hal ajaib yang sudah Engkau lakukan di hadapan mereka.
Karena keras kepala, mereka malah ingin mengangkat seorang pemimpin
untuk membawa mereka kembali ke dalam perbudakan di Mesir.
Tetapi Engkau Allah yang maha pengampun.
Engkau murah hati, penuh belas kasih, panjang sabar, dan setia.
Engkau tidak meninggalkan mereka. 18 Nenek moyang kami membuat berhala berbentuk anak sapi.
Kata mereka, ‘Inilah dewa kita yang sudah membawa kita keluar dari Mesir.’
Mereka berulang kali menghina Engkau dengan perbuatan yang keterlaluan seperti itu. 19 “Namun, Engkau TUHAN yang maha pengasih!
Engkau tidak meninggalkan mereka di padang belantara.
Tiang awan-Mu tetap menuntun mereka pada waktu siang
dan tiang berapi tetap menerangi jalan mereka di kala malam. 20 Roh-Mu memberikan kuasa kepada Musa untuk mengajar mereka dengan lemah lembut.
Engkau tetap menurunkan manna untuk mereka makan
dan menyediakan air ketika mereka haus. 21 Selama empat puluh tahun di padang belantara Engkau memelihara mereka.
Pakaian mereka tidak menjadi usang
dan kaki mereka tidak pernah menjadi bengkak.

Bagian: Dari waktu Israel menguasai negeri Kanaan

22 Engkau menolong mereka mengalahkan banyak kerajaan dan bangsa,
lalu Engkau membagi-bagikan negeri Kanaan kepada suku-suku umat-Mu.
Mereka mengambil alih seluruh wilayah Raja Sihon dari Hesbon dan Raja Og dari Basan. 23 Engkau membuat anak cucu mereka sebanyak bintang-bintang di langit,
dan menuntun mereka memasuki negeri
yang sudah Engkau janjikan kepada nenek moyang mereka. 24 Saat umat-Mu masuk untuk menguasai, Engkau menolong mereka menaklukkan bangsa Kanaan, penduduk negeri ini.
Engkau menyerahkan raja-raja dan rakyat mereka,
sehingga nenek moyang kami berkuasa penuh atas mereka. 25 Bangsa Israel merebut kota-kota berbenteng dan tanah yang subur.
Mereka merampas rumah-rumah yang penuh dengan berbagai harta,
sumur-sumur yang sudah digali,
kebun-kebun anggur dan zaitun yang sudah ditanami,
juga pohon buah-buahan yang berlimpah.
Mereka makan sampai kenyang dan menjadi gemuk.
Bangsa Israel hidup senang karena kebaikan-Mu.

Bagian: Dari waktu pemberontakan Israel

26 Tetapi kemudian mereka menjadi tidak taat kepada-Mu dan memberontak melawan Engkau.
Mereka mengabaikan Hukum-Mu,
dan membunuh para nabi-Mu yang memperingatkan mereka untuk kembali kepada-Mu.
Mereka terus menghina Engkau dengan berbagai perbuatan yang sangat keterlaluan. 27 Oleh sebab itu, Engkau menyerahkan umat-Mu kepada musuh-musuh yang menindas mereka.
Di saat menderita, mereka berseru kepada-Mu minta tolong.
Dari surga Engkau mendengar jeritan mereka, dan satu demi satu Engkau mengutus para hakim untuk menyelamatkan mereka,
sebab Engkau penuh belas kasihan. 28 Namun, saat keadaan tenteram mereka kembali berdosa kepada-Mu.
Maka Engkau membiarkan musuh-musuh menindas mereka.
Ketika mereka berseru minta tolong lagi,
Engkau mendengarkan mereka dari surga.
Berulang kali Engkau tetap menyelamatkan mereka,
sebab Engkau sungguh penuh belas kasihan. 29 Engkau memberi peringatan kepada mereka untuk kembali pada hukum-Mu,
tetapi mereka sombong dan tidak mau menaati perintah-perintah-Mu.
Padahal, jika seseorang menaati perintah-perintah-Mu, dia akan hidup sejahtera,
tetapi mereka terus saja berdosa, keras kepala, suka memberontak, dan menutup telinga terhadap Engkau. 30 Selama bertahun-tahun, Engkau tetap sabar.
Roh-Mu memberikan kuasa kepada para nabi untuk mengajar dan memperingatkan mereka,
tetapi mereka tetap tidak mau taat.
Maka Engkau membiarkan mereka dikalahkan oleh pasukan bangsa-bangsa di sekeliling mereka. 31 Walaupun begitu, Engkau tidak meninggalkan mereka ataupun memusnahkan mereka seluruhnya,
karena Engkau murah hati dan penuh belas kasihan.

Bagian: Sampai zaman sekarang

32 Oleh sebab itu, ya Allah, Engkau yang sangat mengagumkan karena Engkau mahabesar, mahakuasa,
dan selalu setia pada perjanjian-Mu,
janganlah abaikan semua penderitaan yang sudah kami alami,
baik para raja, imam, nabi, nenek moyang, maupun seluruh rakyat kami.
Kami sudah tertindas sejak zaman raja Asyur sampai hari ini. 33 Semua hukuman yang sudah menimpa kami adalah wujud keadilan-Mu.
Kami memang layak dihukum,
karena kami sudah melakukan banyak kesalahan terhadap Engkau yang selalu setia. 34 Para raja, pejabat, imam, dan nenek moyang kami tidak menaati hukum-hukum-Mu.
Mereka tidak menghiraukan perintah-perintah dan peringatan-peringatan-Mu. 35 Mendekati waktu pembuangan umat Israel ke negeri Babel,
saat mereka masih menikmati berbagai berkat yang Engkau limpahkan di negeri yang subur dan luas ini,
mereka tidak melayani Engkau dan tidak berpaling dari perbuatan jahat mereka. 36 Lihatlah, ya Allah, negeri yang sudah Engkau berikan kepada nenek moyang kami sekarang dijajah bangsa lain.
Di tanah kami sendiri, yang seharusnya kami nikmati, kami justru menjadi budak! 37 Hasil panen dan ternak kami menjadi milik para raja yang sudah Engkau tempatkan untuk menguasai kami.
Bahkan kehidupan kami pun dikendalikan mereka!
Ya, akibat dosa kami sendiri, sekarang kami sangat menderita.”

Bagian: Umat Israel membuat perjanjian

38 Berdasarkan doa pengakuan dosa itu, kami membuat sebuah perjanjian tertulis, yang disahkan dengan stempel oleh para pemimpin, orang-orang Lewi, dan imam-imam.

1 Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, with sackcloth, and dirt on them. 2 The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 They stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Yahweh their God a fourth part of the day; and a fourth part they confessed and worshiped Yahweh their God. 4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani of the Levites stood up on the stairs, and cried with a loud voice to Yahweh their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting! Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise! 6 You are Yahweh, even you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. The army of heaven worships you. 7 You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, gave him the name of Abraham, 8 found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his offspring, and have performed your words, for you are righteous. 9 “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea, 10 and showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that they dealt proudly against them, and made a name for yourself, as it is today. 11 You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters. 12 Moreover, in a pillar of cloud you led them by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way in which they should go. 13 “You also came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and made known to them your holy Sabbath, and commanded them commandments, statutes, and a law, by Moses your servant, 15 and gave them bread from the sky for their hunger, and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst, and commanded them that they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them. 16 “But they and our fathers behaved proudly, hardened their neck, didn’t listen to your commandments, 17 and refused to obey. They weren’t mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and didn’t forsake them. 18 Yes, when they had made themselves a molded calf, and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed awful blasphemies, 19 yet you in your manifold mercies didn’t forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud didn’t depart from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither did the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go. 20 You gave also your good Spirit to instruct them, and didn’t withhold your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. 21 “Yes, forty years you sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing. Their clothes didn’t grow old, and their feet didn’t swell. 22 Moreover you gave them kingdoms and peoples, which you allotted according to their portions. So they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of the sky, and brought them into the land concerning which you said to their fathers that they should go in to possess it. 24 “So the children went in and possessed the land; and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they pleased. 25 They took fortified cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns dug out, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled, became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness. 26 “Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against you, cast your law behind their back, killed your prophets that testified against them to turn them again to you, and they committed awful blasphemies. 27 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them. In the time of their trouble, when they cried to you, you heard from heaven; and according to your manifold mercies you gave them saviors who saved them out of the hands of their adversaries. 28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before you; therefore you left them in the hands of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned and cried to you, you heard from heaven; and many times you delivered them according to your mercies, 29 and testified against them, that you might bring them again to your law. Yet they were arrogant, and didn’t listen to your commandments, but sinned against your ordinances (which if a man does, he shall live in them), turned their backs, stiffened their neck, and would not hear. 30 Yet many years you put up with them, and testified against them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not listen. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 “Nevertheless in your manifold mercies you didn’t make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God. 32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness, don’t let all the travail seem little before you that has come on us, on our kings, on our princes, on our priests, on our prophets, on our fathers, and on all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day. 33 However you are just in all that has come on us; for you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly. 34 Also our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law, nor listened to your commandments and your testimonies with which you testified against them. 35 For they have not served you in their kingdom, and in your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land which you gave before them. They didn’t turn from their wicked works. 36 “Behold, we are servants today, and as for the land that you gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its good, behold, we are servants in it. 37 It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. Also they have power over our bodies and over our livestock, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. 38 Yet for all this, we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal it.”