And as these things were finished, the princes drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not been separated from the peoples of the lands in their abominations, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, the Moabite, and the Amorite.
For they took from their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and the holy seed was mixed among the peoples of the lands; and the hand of the rulers was foremost in this unfaithfulness.
And there were gathered to me every one who sought the word of God of Israel because of the unfaithfulness of the captivity, and I, sitting, was resting until the evening sacrifice
And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my humiliation, and in my tearing my garments, and I leaped up and I bent on my knees and spread out my hands toward the Lord God
And I said: Lord, I have been ashamed and I have been confounded to lift up my face to you, because our lawless deeds have multiplied above our head, and our offenses have grown great even to heaven.
From the days of our fathers we have been in great trespass until this day, and in our lawlessnesses we have been given over, we and our kings and our sons, into the hand of the kings of the nations, by sword and by captivity and by plundering and by shame of our face, as this day is
And now the Lord our God has shown favor to us, to leave us a remnant for salvation and to give us a support in the place of his sanctuary, to enlighten our eyes and to give us a little quickening in our slavery
For we are slaves, and in our slavery the Lord our God did not forsake us, and he inclined mercy toward us before the kings of the Persians, to give us revival, to exalt the house of our God, and to raise up its desolations, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem
which you gave to us by the hand of your servants the prophets, saying, The land into which you enter to inherit it is a land being moved, in the moving of the peoples of the nations, in their long abominations, with which they filled it from mouth to mouth in their uncleannesses
And now do not give your daughters to their sons, and from their daughters do not take for your sons, and do not seek their peace and their good forever, so that you may be strengthened and eat the good things of the land and bequeath to your sons forever.
And after all that comes upon us in our evil deeds and in our great trespass, because there is none like our God, because you have lightened our lawless deeds and have given us salvation.
For we have turned to break up your commandments and to intermarry with the peoples of the lands; do not be provoked against us until the end, so that there may not be a remnant and one who is saved.
O Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous, because we have been left as those who are delivered, as on this day; behold, we are before you in our trespasses, for there is no standing before you because of this.