9
He remained ill for a long time, as waves of despair swept over him, until he finally realized that he was going to die.
10
He called together all those to whom he had given the title "Friends of the King" and said to them, "I cannot sleep, and my heart is broken with grief and worry.
11
At first I asked myself why these great waves of trouble were sweeping over me, since I have been kind and well-liked during my reign.
12
But then I remembered the wrongs I did in Jerusalem when I took all the silver and gold objects from the Temple and tried without any good reason to destroy the inhabitants of Judea.
13
I know this is why all these terrible things have happened to me and I am about to die in deep despair here in this foreign land."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.