Nehemiah 9:12-21 - Wandering In The Wilderness

¹² You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,
and with a pillar of fire by night,
to illuminate the way they should go.
¹³ You came down on Mount Sinai,
and spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions,
and good statutes and commands.
¹⁴ You revealed Your holy Sabbath to them,
and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction
through Your servant Moses.
¹⁵ You provided bread from heaven for their hunger;
You brought them water from the rock for their thirst.
You told them to go in and possess the land
You had sworn to give them. ¹⁶ But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
¹⁷ They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,
and You did not abandon them.
¹⁸ Even after they had cast an image of a calf
for themselves and said,
“This is your God who brought you out of Egypt,”
and they had committed terrible blasphemies,
¹⁹ You did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of Your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go.
²⁰ You sent Your good Spirit to instruct them.
You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths,
and You gave them water for their thirst.
²¹ You provided for them in the wilderness 40 years
and they lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out,
and their feet did not swell.