^2 (A)And the Israelites^[a] separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

³ As soon as the people heard the law, ^(A)they separated from Israel all ^(B)those of foreign descent.

¹¹ Now then ^(A)make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will. ^(B)Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”

^30 (A)Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work;

Gabriel Brings an Answer

^20 (A)While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for ^(B)the holy hill of my God,

³ Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by ^(A)prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and ^(B)made confession, saying, ^(C)“O Lord, the ^(D)great and awesome God, who ^(E)keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ^5 (F)we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly ^(G)and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. ^6 (H)We have not listened to ^(I)your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to ^(J)our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ⁷ To you, ^(K)O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, ^(L)those who are near and ^(M)those who are far away, in ^(N)all the lands to which you have driven them, because of ^(O)the treachery that they have committed against you. ⁸ To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because ^(P)we have sinned against you. ^9 (Q)To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him ^10 (R)and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by ^(S)his servants the prophets.

^2 (A)For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the ^(B)holy race^[a] has ^(C)mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.”