¹² I will grant you mercy, and he will have mercy on you and restore you to your native soil.

⁹ For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.^(A)

⁵⁰ and forgive your people who have sinned against you and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of their captors, so that they may have compassion on them^(A)

¹¹ O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!”

At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.^(A)

¹¹ The Lord said: Surely I have intervened in your life^[a] for good; surely I have brought enemies upon you^[b] in a time of trouble and in a time of distress.^(A)

⁹ For as you return to the Lord, your kindred and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”^(A)