6
saying: "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities
1have risen higher than our heads, and our
2guilt has
3mounted up to the heavens.
7
4From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great
5guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering,
6and to utter shame, as it is today.
8
But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, to leave us a
7remnant and to give us a
8secure hold within his holy place, that our God may
9brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery.
9
10For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery,
11but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.
10
"And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments,
11
which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with
12their uncleanness.
12
13Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land
14and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.'
13
And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for
15our great guilt, seeing that you, our
16God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a
17remnant as this,
14
shall we break your commandments again and
18intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us
19until you consumed us, so that there should be no
20remnant, nor any to escape?
15
O LORD, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a
21remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our
22guilt,
23for none can stand before you because of this."