72
And all who were ever moved at the word of the Lord of Israel gathered around me, as I mourned over this iniquity, and I sat grief-stricken until the evening sacrifice.
73
Then I rose from my fast, with my garments and my holy mantle torn, and kneeling down and stretching out my hands to the Lord
74
I said, "O Lord, I am ashamed and confused before your face.
75
For our sins have risen higher than our heads, and our mistakes have mounted up to heaven
76
from the times of our ancestors, and we are in great sin to this day.
77
Because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors, we with our kindred and our kings and our priests were given over to the kings of the earth, to the sword and exile and plundering, in shame until this day.
78
And now in some measure mercy has come to us from you, O Lord, to leave to us a root and a name in your holy place,
79
and to uncover a light for us in the house of the Lord our God, and to give us food in the time of our servitude.
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Even in our bondage we were not forsaken by our Lord, but he brought us into favor with the kings of the Persians, so that they have given us food
81
and glorified the temple of our Lord, and raised Zion from desolation, to give us a stronghold in Judea and Jerusalem.
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"And now, O Lord, what shall we say, when we have these things? For we have transgressed your commandments, which you gave by your servants the prophets, saying,