| Now, after these things were done, the princes came to me |
| saying; The people of Israel, and the priests, and Levites |
| have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, |
| doing according to their abominations, of the Canaanites, |
| the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, |
| the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. |
| For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and |
| for their sons, so their holy seed have mingled themselves |
| with the people of the lands: yea, the hand of the princes |
| and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. And, when I |
| heard this thing, I rent my garment, and my mantle, and |
| plucked off the hair of my head, and sat down astonished. |
| Then were assembled unto me, every one that trembled at |
| the words of the Lord, God of Israel, because of the trans- |
| gression of those, that had been carried away; and I sat |
| astonished until the evening sacrifice. |
| And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness |
| and, having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon |
| my knees, and spread out my hands, unto the Lord, my |
| God, and said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift |
| up my face to thee, for our iniquities are increased over |
| our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. |
| Since the days of our fathers, we have been in a great |
| trespass, unto this day, and for our iniquities have we, |
| our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand |
| of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and |
| to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. |
| And now, for a little space, grace hath been shewed from |
| the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to |
| give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten |
| our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. |
| For we were bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken us |
| in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us, in the |
| sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set |
| up the house of our Lord, and to repair the desecrations |
| thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. |
| And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For |
| we have forsaken thy commandments, which thou hast |
| commanded by thy servants, the prophets, saying; The |
| land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land |
| with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their |
| abominations, which have filled it, from one end, to |
| another with their uncleanness. |
| Now therefore, give not your daughters unto their sons, |
| neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek of |
| their peace, or of their wealth, for ever, that ye may be |
| strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an |
| inheritance to your children, for ever. |
| And, after all that is come upon us, for our evil deeds, |
| and our great trespass, seeing that thou, our God, hast |
| punished us, less than our iniquities deserve, and hast |
| given us all such a deliverance as this, should we again |
| break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the |
| people of these abominations? Wouldest not thou be |
| angry with us till thou hadst consumed us so that there |
| should be no remnant, nor escaping? |
| Oh Lord, God of Israel, thou art righteous, for we |
| remain yet escaped, as it is this day. Behold! We are |
| before thee in our trespass, for we cannot stand before |
| thee because of this. |