^3-4 Then, to show my sorrow, I went without eating and dressed in sackcloth^[a] and sat in ashes. I confessed my sins and earnestly prayed to the Lord my God:

Our Lord, you are a great and fearsome God, and you faithfully keep your agreement with those who love and obey you. ⁵ But we have sinned terribly by rebelling against you and rejecting your laws and teachings. ⁶ We have ignored the message your servants the prophets spoke to our kings, our leaders, our ancestors, and everyone else.

^7 (A) Everything you do is right, our Lord. But still we suffer public disgrace because we have been unfaithful and have sinned against you. This includes all of us, both far and near—the people of Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel, as well as those you dragged away to foreign lands, ⁸ and even our kings, our officials, and our ancestors. ⁹ Lord God, you are merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against you ¹⁰ and rejected your teachings that came to us from your servants the prophets.