Confession of sin

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An admission of sin on the part of individuals or groups of people. Genuine repentance and confession herald divine forgiveness.

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Nehemiah 9:1–3 LEB

1 On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites gathered in fasting, in sackcloths, and with soil on them. 2 Those of the seed of Israel separated themselves from all of the foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. 3 They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God for a fourth part of the day, and for a fourth they were confessing and worshiping Yahweh their God.

Confesion

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Confession

con•fes•sion \kən-ˈfe-shən\ noun

14th century

1 a: an act of confessing especially: a disclosure of one’s sins in the sacrament of reconciliation

b: a session for the confessing of sins 〈go to confession〉

2: a statement of what is confessed: as

a: a written or oral acknowledgment of guilt by a party accused of an offense

b: a formal statement of religious beliefs: CREED

3: an organized religious body having a common creed

Dictionary of Bible Themes 6624 confession, of sin

confession, of sin

An admission of sin on the part of individuals or groups of people. Genuine repentance and confession herald divine forgiveness.

Confession of sin leads to divine forgiveness

Under the old covenant Pr 28:13 See also Lev 16:21 Part of the ritual of the Day of Atonement involved the high priest confessing the sins of the nation, while laying his hands on the head of a sacrificial goat; Lev 26:40-42; 1Ki 8:33-36 pp 2Ch 6:24-27; 1Ki 8:46-52 pp 2Ch 6:36-39; Ps 32:3-5

Under the new covenant 1Jn 1:8-10 See also Jas 5:13-16

Confession of sin accompanied by acts appropriate to repentance

Nu 5:5-8 See also Lev 5:5-6; Ezr 10:10-11; Ne 9:1-3; Lk 19:8; Ac 19:18-19

Examples of confession of sin

On behalf of the nation Ne 1:5-7 See also Ezr 9:5-15; Isa 59:12-13; 64:6-7; Jer 14:7,20; Da 9:4-14

By the people as a whole 1Sa 7:5-6 See also Ezr 9:4-7,10-15; Ne 9:33-35; Ps 106:6; Jer 3:24-25

By individuals Ps 51:1-5 See also 2Sa 24:10 pp 1Ch 21:10; 2Sa 24:17 pp 1Ch 21:17; Job 7:20; 42:5-6; Isa 6:5

Confession of sin to other people

Jos 7:20-21 See also Lk 15:17-24; Jas 5:16

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 3344 II. יָדָה

3344 II. יָדָה (yā·ḏā(h)): v.; ≡ Str 3034; TWOT 847—1. LN 33.354–33.364 (hif) express praise, extol, i.e., make a public confession of the attributes and acts of power of a person (2Sa 22:50), (hitp) (2Ch 30:22) note: there is a focus on the content of praise, spoken out-loud, usually in the context of the community; 2. LN 33.349–33.353 (hif) give thanks, i.e., give an expression of praise for a person, with a particular focus on the subject being engaged in the expression of thanks or praise (1Ch 29:13); 3. LN 33.275–33.277 (hif) confess, make an admission, i.e., to publicly admit to something, usually a wrong of some kind (Ps 32:5; Pr 28:13); (hitp) (Lev 5:5; Da 9:4)

One of the themes of this passage is: Elements of Worship

Confession of sin leads to divine forgiveness

Under the old covenant

Proverbs 28:13 LEB

He who conceals his transgression will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes will obtain mercy.

See also Part of the ritual of the Day of Atonement involved the high priest confessing the sins of the nation, while laying his hands on the head of a sacrificial goat; ; ; ;

Leviticus 16:21 LEB

21 And Aaron shall place his two hands on the living goat’s head, and he shall confess over it all the Israelites’ iniquities and all their transgressions for all their sins, and he shall put them on the goat’s head, and he shall send it away into the desert with a man standing ready.

Leviticus 26:40–42 LEB

40 “ ‘But when they confess their guilt and the guilt of their ancestors in their infidelity that they displayed against me, and moreover that they went against me in hostility— 41 I myself also went against them in hostility, and I brought them into the land of their enemies—or if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and then they pay for their guilt, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob; and I will remember also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

1 Kings 8:33–36 LEB

33 When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they sinned against you, and when they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, 34 then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. 35 When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, 36 then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

1 Kings 8:46–52 LEB

46 “If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, 47 and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,’ 48 if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, 49 then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall vindicate them. 50 You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, even for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, 51 for they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. 52 O, that your eyes may be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things when they call to you.

Psalm 32:3–5 LEB

3 When I kept silent, my bones were worn out due to my groaning all the day. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My vigor was changed into the dry heat of summer. Selah 5 I made known my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not cover. I said, “I will confess concerning my transgressions to Yahweh,” and you took away the guilt of my sin. Selah

Leviticus 16:21 LEB

Under the new covenant

1 John 1:8–10 LEB

If we say that we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Confession of sin accompanied by acts appropriate to repentance

Numbers 5:5–8 LEB

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman commits any of the sins of humankind by acting unfaithfully, it is a sin against Yahweh, and that person will be guilty; they will confess their sin that they did and will make restitution for their guilt by adding a fifth to it and giving it to whomever was wronged. But if the man does not have a redeemer to make restitution to him for the reparation, the reparation is to be given to Yahweh for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement by which atonement is made for him.

Examples of confession of sin

On behalf of the nation

Nehemiah 1:5–7 LEB

I said, “O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and awesome one who keeps the covenant and loyal love for the ones who love him and for those who keep his commands. Please, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying before you by day and by night for your servants, the Israelites, and confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have sinned against you. I and my father’s house have sinned. We have certainly offended you and have not kept the commands, regulations, and judgments that you have commanded your servant Moses.

See also ; ; ; ; ;

Ezra 9:5–15 LEB

5 At the evening offering I got up from my mourning posture and, with my garment and robe torn, I fell down on my knees and I spread out my palms to Yahweh my God 6 and said, “My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God. For our sins have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our sins we ourselves, our kings, and our priests have been handed into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to utter shame, as it is this day. 8 But now for a brief moment mercy has been shown by Yahweh our God, who left behind for us a remnant, and given us security in his holy place—for our God to brighten our eyes and to give us brief relief in our bondage. 9 For we are slaves and in our bondage our God did not forsake us, and he has extended to us loyal love in the presence of the kings of Persia, to give to us deliverance and to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem. 10 “And now our God what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by the hand of your servants the prophets saying, ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land of impurity with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their detestable things which they have filled from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons, and do not take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek their peace and prosperity so that forever you may be strong and eat the good of the land and may give it as an inheritance to your sons.’ 13 After all that has come upon us for our evil practices and for our great guilt—you, our God, have held back less than our guilt deserved and you have given us a remainder such as this. 14 Shall we again break your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who practice these detestable things? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us with no remnant or remainder? 15 Yahweh, God of Israel, you are righteous, for we have been left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”

Isaiah 59:12–13 LEB

12 For our transgressions are numerous before you, and our sins testify against us. Indeed, our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: 13 transgressing and denying Yahweh, and turning away from following our God; speaking oppression and falsehood, conceiving and uttering words of deception from the heart.

Isaiah 64:6–7 LEB

6 And we all have become like the unclean, and all our deeds of justice like a menstrual cloth, And we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities take us away like the wind. 7 And there is no one who calls on your name, who pulls himself up to keep hold of you, for you have hidden your face from us, and melted us into the hand of our iniquity.

Jeremiah 14:7 LEB

7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O Yahweh, act for the sake of your name. Yes, our apostasies are many; we have sinned against you.

Jeremiah 14:20 LEB

20 We know, O Yahweh, our wickedness, the iniquity of our ancestors, for we have sinned against you.

Daniel 9:4–14 LEB

4 And I prayed to Yahweh my God, and I made confession and I said, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and we have done wrong and we acted wickedly and we rebelled and have been turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors and to all the people of the land. 7 “Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord, and on us is open shame, just as it is this day to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far off in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of their infidelity which they displayed against you. 8 Yahweh, on us is open shame, on our kings, on our princes, and on our ancestors, because we have sinned against you. 9 Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord, our God, for we have rebelled against him, 10 and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law which he placed before us by the hand of his servants the prophets. 11 “And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside so as not to listen to your voice, and so the curse and the oath which was written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 And so he has carried out his words which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring upon us a great calamity which was not done under all of heaven as it was done in Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all of this calamity has come upon us, and we have not implored the face of Yahweh our God so as to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness. 14 So Yahweh has kept watch over the calamity, and now he has brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God is righteous concerning all his works that he has done, but we have not listened to his voice.

By the people as a whole

1 Samuel 7:5–6 LEB

Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you.” So they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh. They fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh!” So Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

By individuals

Psalm 51:1–5 LEB

1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loyal love. According to your abundant mercies, blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and from my sin cleanse me. 3 For I myself know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, only you, I have sinned and have done this evil in your eyes, so that you are correct when you speak, you are blameless when you judge. 5 Behold, in iniquity I was born, and in sin my mother conceived me.

Confession of sin to other people

Joshua 7:20–21 LEB

And Achan answered Joshua and said, “It is true. I have sinned against Yahweh the God of Israel, and this is what I did: I saw among the spoil a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and one bar of gold that weighed fifty shekels; I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver is under it.”