¹⁹ For I was afraid that the anger that the Lord bore against you was so fierce that he would destroy you. But the Lord listened to me that time also.^(A)

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.^{(A) 17} Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.^(B)

¹⁰ “I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. And once again the Lord listened to me. The Lord was unwilling to destroy you.^(A)

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”^(A)

¹⁴ And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.^(A)

¹⁰ Now let me alone so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, and of you I will make a great nation.”^(A)

¹¹ But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?^(B)

Exhortation to Fearless Confession

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that can do nothing more.^{(A) 5} But I will show you whom to fear: fear the one who, after killing, has authority^[a] to cast into hell.^[b] Yes, I tell you, fear that one!^(B)

² When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

² one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the Jews who escaped, those who had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³ They replied, “The remnant there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”^(A)

⁴ When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.^{(B) 5} I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,^{(C) 6} let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the Israelites, confessing the sins of the Israelites, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned.^{(D) 7} We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded Moses your servant.^(E)