1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and earth upon them.2 Then the seed of Israel separated themselves from the children of the foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of Jehovah their God for a fourth part of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and prostrated themselves before Jehovah their God.4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to Jehovah their God.5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: Stand up and bless Jehovah your God forever and ever! Blessed is Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!6 You alone are Jehovah; You have made the heavens, the Heaven of the heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all alive. The host of the Heavens bow down before You.7 You are Jehovah God, who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and placed upon him the name Abraham;8 You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites; to give it to his seed. You have performed Your words, for You are just.9 You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea.10 You gave signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, upon all his servants, and upon all the people of his land. For You knew that they had acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.11 And You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and those pursuing them You threw into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters.12 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the way which they should travel.13 You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from the heavens, and gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes and Laws, by the hand of Your servant Moses.15 You gave them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and intended for them to go in to possess the land which You had raised Your hand and sworn to give them.16 But they and our fathers acted presumptuously, hardened their necks, and did not heed Your commandments,17 and refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness; and did not forsake them.18 Even when they made a molten calf for themselves, and said, This is your god that brought you up out of Egypt, and worked great blasphemies;19 yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them on the road; nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way they should go.20 You also gave Your good Spirit to teach them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.22 Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, and divided them into districts. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, 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 heavens, and brought them into the land which You had commanded their fathers to go in and possess it.24 So the people went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they pleased.25 And they captured strong cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, and lived luxuriously in Your great goodness.26 Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your Law behind their backs and killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them to Yourself; and they worked great blasphemies.27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them; and in the time of their trouble, when they cried out to You, You heard from Heaven; and according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.28 But after they had rest, they returned to doing evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they returned and cried out 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 back to Your Law. Yet they acted presumptuously, and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. And they shrugged their shoulders, stiffened their necks, and would not obey.30 Yet for many years You had patience with them, and testified against them by Your Spirit by the hand of Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not annihilate them nor forsake them; for You are the Mighty God, gracious and merciful.32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and awesome Mighty God, who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You that has found us, our kings and our rulers, our priests and our prophets, our fathers and all Your people, since the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.33 However You are just in all that has come upon us; for You have dealt faithfully, but we have done wickedly.34 Neither our kings nor our princes, our priests nor our fathers, have kept Your Law, nor paid attention to Your commandments and Your testimonies, with which You testified against them.35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, nor in the great goodness that You gave them, nor in the large and rich land which You set before them; nor did they turn from their evil works.36 Here we are, servants this day! And the land that You gave to our fathers, to eat its fruit and its bounty; behold, we are servants in it.37 And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, because of our sins; also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle at their pleasure; and we are in great distress.38 And because of all this, we are making a covenant in good faith, and writing it; sealed by our rulers, our Levites, and our priests.

1 Forsothe in the foure and twentithe dai of this monethe, the sones of Israel camen togidere in fastyng,2 and in sackis, and `erthe was on hem. And the seed of the sones of Israel was departid fro ech alien sone. And thei stoden bifor the Lord, and knoulechiden her synnes, and the wickidnessis of her fadris.3 And thei risiden togidere to stonde; and thei redden in the book of the lawe of `her Lord God fouresithis in the dai, and fouresithis in the niyt; thei knoulechiden, and herieden `her Lord God.4 Forsothe `thei risiden on the degree, of dekenes, Jesuy, and Bany, Cedynyel, Remmy, Abany, Sarabie, Bany, and Chanany.5 And the dekenes crieden with grete vois to her Lord God. And Jesue, and Cedyniel, Bonny, Assebie, Serebie, Arabie, Odaie, Sebua, and Facaia, seiden, Rise ye, and blesse ye `youre Lord God fro without bigynnyng and til in to with outen ende; and blesse thei the hiye name of thi glorie in al blessyng and preysyng.6 And Esdras seide, Thou thi silf, Lord, art aloone; thou madist heuene and the heuene of heuenes, and al the oost of tho heuenes; thou madist the erthe and alle thingis that ben there ynne; `thou madist the sees and alle thingis that ben in tho; and thou quikenyst alle these thingis; and the oost of heuene worschipith thee.7 Thou thi silf art the Lord God, that chesidist Abram, and leddist hym out of the fier of Caldeis, and settidist his name Abraham;8 and foundist his herte feithful bifor thee, and thou hast smyte with hym a boond of pees, that thou woldist yyue to hym the lond of Cananei, of Ethei, of Euey, and of Ammorrei, and of Pherezei, and of Jebuzei, and of Gergesei, that thou woldist yyue it to his seed; and thou hast fillid thi wordis, for thou art iust.9 And thou hast seyn the turment of oure fadris in Egipt, and thou herdist the cry of hem on the reed see.10 And thou hast youe signes and grete wondris in Farao, and in alle hise seruauntis, and in al the puple of that lond; for thou knowist, that thei diden proudli ayens oure fadris; and thou madist to thee a name, as also in this dai.11 And thou departidist the see bifor hem, and thei passiden thorou the `myddis of the see in the drie place; forsothe thou castidist doun the pursueris of hem into depthe, as a stoon in strong watris.12 And in a piler of cloude thou were the ledere of hem bi dai, and in a piler of fier bi nyyt, that the weie, bi which thei entriden, schulde appere to hem.13 Also thou camest doun at the hil of Synai, and spakist with hem fro heuene, and thou yauest to hem riytful domes, and the lawe of trewthe, cerymonyes, and goode comaundementis.14 And thou schewidist to hem an halewid sabat; and thou comaundidist `to hem comaundementis, and cerymonyes, and lawe, in the hond of Moises, thi seruaunt.15 Also thou yauest to hem breed fro heuene in her hungur; and thou leddist out of the stoon watir to hem thirstinge; and thou seidist to hem, that thei schulden entre, and haue in possessioun the lond, on which lond thou reisidist thin hond, that thou schuldist yyue it to hem.16 But `thei and oure fadris diden proudli, and maden hard her nollis, and herden not thi comaundementis.17 And thei nolden here; and thei hadden not mynde of thi merueils, which thou haddist do to hem; and thei maden hard her nollis; and thei yauen the heed, that thei `weren al turned to her seruage as bi strijf; but thou art God helpful, meke, and merciful, abidynge longe, `ether pacient, and of myche merciful doyng, and forsokist not hem;18 and sotheli whanne thei hadden maad to hem a yotun calf, as bi strijf, and hadden seid, This is thi God, that `ledde thee out of Egipt, and thei diden grete blasfemyes.19 But thou in thi many mercyes leftist not hem in deseert; for a piler of cloude yede not awei fro hem bi the dai, that it schulde lede hem in to the weie; and a piler of fier yede not awei `fro hem bi nyyt, that it schulde schewe to hem the weie, bi which thei schulden entre.20 And thou yauest to hem thi good Spirit, that tauyte hem; and thou forbedist not thin aungels mete fro her mouth, and thou yauest to hem water in thirst.21 Fourti yeer thou feddist hem in deseert, and no thing failide to hem; her clothis wexiden not elde, and her feet weren not hirt.22 And thou yauest to hem rewmes, and puplis; and thou departidist lottis, `ether eritagis, to hem, and thei hadden in possessioun the lond of Seon, and the lond of the kyng of Esebon, and the lond of Og, kyng of Basan.23 And thou multipliedist the sones of hem, as the sterris of heuene; and thou brouytist hem to the lond, of which thou seidist to her fadris, that thei schulden entre, and holde it in possessioun.24 And the sones of Israel camen, and hadden the lond in possessioun; and bifor hem thou madist low the dwellers of the lond, Cananeis; and thou yauest hem in to the hondis of the sones of Israel, and the kyngis of hem, and the puplis of the lond, that thei diden to hem, as it pleside hem.25 And thei token citees maad strong, and fat erthe; and thei hadden in possessioun housis fulle of alle goodis, cisternes maad of othere men, vineris, and places of olyues, and many apple trees. And thei eeten, and weren fillid, and weren maad fat; and hadden plentee of ritchessis `in thi greet goodnesse.26 Sotheli thei terriden thee to wrathfulnesse, and yeden awei fro thee, and castiden awei thi lawe bihynde her backis; and thei killiden thi prophetis, that witnessiden to hem, that thei schulden turne ayen to thee; and thei diden grete blasfemyes.27 And thou yauest hem in to the hond of her enemyes; and thei turmentiden hem; and in the tyme of her tribulacioun thei crieden to thee; and thou herdist them fro heuyn, and bi thi many merciful doyngis thou yauest hem sauyours, that sauyden hem fro the hond of her enemyes.28 And whanne thei hadden restid, thei turneden ayen to do yuel in thi siyt; and thou forsokist hem in the hond of her enemyes, and enemyes hadden hem in possessioun; and thei weren conuertid, and thei crieden to thee; forsothe thou herdist hem fro heuene, and delyueridist hem `in thi mercies in many tymes.29 And thou witnessidist to hem, that thei schulden turne ayen to thi lawe; but thei diden proudli, and herden not thin heestis, and synneden in thi domes, whiche a man that schal do schal lyue in tho; and thei yauen the schuldre goynge awei, and thei maden hard her nol.3 And thou drowist along many yeeris on hem, and thou witnessidist to hem in thi Spirit bi the hond of thi prophetis; and thei herden not; and thou yauest hem in to the hond of the puplis of londis.31 But in thi mercies ful manye thou madist not hem in to wastyng, nethir thou forsokist hem; for thou art God of merciful doynges, and meke.32 Now therfor, oure Lord God, greet God, strong, and ferdful, kepynge couenaunt and merci, turne thou not awei thi face in al the trauel that foond vs, oure kyngis, and oure princes, and oure fadris, and oure preestis, and oure profetis, and al thi puple, fro the daies of kyng Assur til to this dai.33 And thou art iust in alle thingis, that camen on vs, for thou didist trewthe to vs; but we han do wickidli.34 Oure kyngis, and oure princes, oure prestis, and fadris `diden not thi lawe; and thei perseyueden not thin heestis and witnessyngis, whiche thou witnessidist in hem.35 And thei in her good rewmes, and in thi myche goodnesse, which thou yauest to hem, and in the largest lond and fat, whych thou haddist youe in the siyt of hem, serueden not thee, nether turneden ayen fro her werste studies.36 Lo! we `vs silf ben thrallis to dai; and the lond which thou yauest to oure fadris, that thei schulden ete the breed therof, and the goodis that ben therof, `is thral; and we `vs silf ben thrallis, `ethir boonde men, in that lond.37 And the fruytis therof ben multiplied to kyngis, whiche thou hast set on vs for oure synnes; and thei ben lordis of oure bodies, and of oure beestis, bi her wille, and we ben in greet tribulacioun.38 Therfor on alle these thingis we `vs silf smyten and writen boond of pees, and oure princes, oure dekenes, and oure prestis aseelen.