When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against you, and they return to you and praise your name, and they pray and plead with you for mercy in this temple,

“你的民以色列若得罪你，败在仇敌面前，又归向你，承认你的名，在这殿里祈求祷告，

“你的百姓以色列若得罪你，败在仇敌面前，却又归向你，宣认你的名，在这殿里向你祈求祷告，

“你的百姓以色列若得罪你，败在仇敌面前，却又归向你，宣认你的名，在这殿里向你祈求祷告，

“当你的以色列子民因得罪你而败在敌人手中时，如果他们回心转意归向你，承认你的名，在这殿里祈祷，

“你的子民以色列若是得罪了你，以致在仇敌面前被打败，又回转归向你，承认你的名，在这殿里向你祷告恳求的时候，

「你的民以色列若得罪你，敗在仇敵面前，又歸向你，承認你的名，在這殿裏祈求禱告，

「你的百姓以色列若得罪你，敗在仇敵面前，卻又歸向你，宣認你的名，在這殿裏向你祈求禱告，

「你的百姓以色列若得罪你，敗在仇敵面前，卻又歸向你，宣認你的名，在這殿裏向你祈求禱告，

「當你的以色列子民因得罪你而敗在敵人手中時，如果他們回心轉意歸向你，承認你的名，在這殿裡祈禱，

“你的子民以色列若是得罪了你，以致在仇敵面前被打敗，又回轉歸向你，承認你的名，在這殿裡向你禱告懇求的時候，

『你人民以色列若犯罪得罪了你，在仇敵面前被擊敗，又回轉過來歸向你，稱讚你的名，在這殿裏向你禱告懇求，

爾民以色列因獲罪爾、敗於敵前、若轉歸爾、而認爾名、在此室禱告祈求於爾、

如爾民以色列族、犯罪於爾、為敵所敗、厥後心歸乎爾、虔向此殿、以祈禱呼籲爾名、

如主之民以色列人、因獲罪於主、為敵所敗、厥後歸於主、認主之名、在此殿禱告祈求主、

“ When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,

“ Suppose your people Israel have lost the battle against their enemies. And suppose they’ve sinned against you. But they turn back to you and praise your name. They pray to you in this temple. And they ask you to help them.

“ When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house,

“ If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple,

“ When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and implore Your favor in this house,

“ When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple,

When thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house:

When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and praise Your name, and they pray and plead with You for mercy in this temple,

When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

“ The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple,

“ When your people Israel are struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you; if they turn again to you, and confess your name, and pray and make supplication to you in this house;

I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even though no one is pursuing you.

The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Those who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away because of their iniquity; they will also waste away because of their ancestors’ iniquities along with theirs.“ But when they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their ancestors— their unfaithfulness that they practiced against me, and how they acted with hostility toward me,and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies— and when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,then I will remember my covenant with Jacob. I will also remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

you will serve your enemies that the LORD will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a pestilence among you, and you will be delivered into enemy hands.

Look down from heaven and see from your lofty home— holy and beautiful. Where is your zeal and your might? Your yearning and your compassion are withheld from me.Yet you are our Father, even though Abraham does not know us and Israel doesn’t recognize us. You, LORD, are our Father; your name is Our Redeemer from Ancient Times.Why, LORD, do you make us stray from your ways? You harden our hearts so we do not fear you. Return, because of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.Your holy people had a possession for a little while, but our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.We have become like those you never ruled, like those who did not bear your name.If only you would tear the heavens open and come down, so that mountains would quake at your presence—just as fire kindles brushwood, and fire boils water— to make your name known to your enemies, so that nations would tremble at your presence!When you did awesome works that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains quaked at your presence.From ancient times no one has heard, no one has listened to, no eye has seen any God except you who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him.You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right; they remember you in your ways. But we have sinned, and you were angry. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.No one calls on your name, striving to take hold of you. For you have hidden your face from us and made us melt because of our iniquity.Yet LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we all are the work of your hands.LORD, do not be terribly angry or remember our iniquity forever. Please look— all of us are your people!Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.Our holy and beautiful temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned down, and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.LORD, after all this, will you restrain yourself? Will you keep silent and afflict us severely?

What can I say, Lord, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?

Israel has sinned. They have violated my covenant that I appointed for them. They have taken some of what was set apart. They have stolen, deceived, and put those things with their own belongings.This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you what is set apart.

If your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against you, and they return to you and praise your name, and they pray and plead for mercy before you in this temple,may you hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel. May you restore them to the land you gave them and their ancestors.

God saw their actions— that they had turned from their evil ways— so God relented from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.

This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they worshiped other gods.They lived according to the customs of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites and according to what the kings of Israel did.The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city.They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did evil things, angering the LORD.They served idols, although the LORD had told them,“ You must not do this.”Still, the LORD warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying,“ Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.”But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the LORD their God.They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.They abandoned all the commands of the LORD their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the LORD’s sight and angered him.Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained.

The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah, along the Habor( Gozan’s river), and in the cities of the Medes,because they did not listen to the LORD their God but violated his covenant— all he had commanded Moses the servant of the LORD. They did not listen, and they did not obey.

The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD handed them over to Midian seven years,and they oppressed Israel. Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.

At the evening offering, I got up from my time of humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.And I said: My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward you, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens.Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our ancestors until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame, as it is today.But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in his holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us a little relief and light to our eyes.Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us relief, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.Now, our God, what can we say in light of this? For we have abandoned the commandsyou gave through your servants the prophets, saying,“ The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices.So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons. Never pursue their welfare or prosperity, so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.”After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt— though you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have allowed us to survive—should we break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t you become so angry with us that you would destroy us, leaving neither remnant nor survivor?LORD God of Israel, you are righteous, for we survive as a remnant today. Here we are before you with our guilt, though no one can stand in your presence because of this.

On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads.Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levites and cried out loudly to the LORD their God.Then the Levites— Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah— said,“ Stand up. Blessed be the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting.” Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses:“ If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.”

All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the LORD’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.But the LORD, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again, for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the LORD’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him.

So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: Ah, Lord— the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands—we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commands and ordinances.We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the people of the land.Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel— those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where you have banished them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward you.LORD, public shame belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, because we have sinned against you.Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against himand have not obeyed the LORD our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants the prophets.All Israel has broken your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. The promised curse written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against him.He has carried out his words that he spoke against us and against our rulers by bringing on us a disaster that is so great that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all of heaven.Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth.So the LORD kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all he has done. But we have not obeyed him.Now, Lord our God— who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and made your name renowned as it is this day— we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, may your anger and wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant. Make your face shine on your desolate sanctuary for the Lord’s sake.Listen closely, my God, and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion.Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for your own sake, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name.

You make us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have taken plunder for themselves.