“ If your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you, then if they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help before you in this temple,

“你的民以色列若得罪你，败在仇敌面前，又回心转意承认你的名，在这殿里向你祈求祷告，

“你的百姓以色列若得罪你，败在仇敌面前，却又归向你，宣认你的名，在这殿里向你祈求祷告，

“你的百姓以色列若得罪你，败在仇敌面前，却又归向你，宣认你的名，在这殿里向你祈求祷告，

“当你的以色列子民因得罪你而败在敌人手中时，如果他们回心转意归向你，承认你的名，在这殿里祈祷，

“如果你的子民以色列得罪了你，以致在仇敌面前被击败；后来回心转意，承认你的名，在这殿里向你祷告祈求，

「你的民以色列若得罪你，敗在仇敵面前，又回心轉意承認你的名，在這殿裏向你祈求禱告，

「你的百姓以色列若得罪你，敗在仇敵面前，卻又歸向你，宣認你的名，在這殿裏向你祈求禱告，

「你的百姓以色列若得罪你，敗在仇敵面前，卻又歸向你，宣認你的名，在這殿裏向你祈求禱告，

「當你的以色列子民因得罪你而敗在敵人手中時，如果他們回心轉意歸向你，承認你的名，在這殿裡祈禱，

“如果你的子民以色列得罪了你，以致在仇敵面前被擊敗；後來回心轉意，承認你的名，在這殿裡向你禱告祈求，

『你人民以色列若犯罪得罪了你，在仇敵面前被擊敗，又回轉過來、稱讚你的名，在這殿裏、在你面前禱告懇求，

如爾民以色列、因獲罪爾、敗於敵前、回轉而認爾名、在此室禱告祈求於爾、

如爾以色列族之民、獲罪於爾、為敵所敗、厥後心歸乎爾、虔向此殿祈禱、呼籲爾名、

如主之民以色列、因獲罪於主、為敵所敗、厥後歸於主、認主之名、在此殿祈禱呼籲主、

“ When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple,

“ Suppose your people Israel have lost the battle against their enemies. And suppose they’ve sinned against you. But they turn back to you and praise your name. They pray to you in this temple. And they ask you to help them.

“ If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house,

“ If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn back and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple,

If your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against you, and they return to you and praise your name, and they pray and plead for mercy before you in this temple,

“ If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and praise Your name, and pray and plead before You in this house,

“ Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple,

And if thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;

If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and praise Your name, and they pray and plead for mercy before You in this temple,

And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;

“ If your people Israel are struck down before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and confess your name, and pray and make supplication before you in this house;

I will set my face against you. You will be struck down before your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when there is no one pursuing you.

On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust.Those truly of Israelite descent separated from all the foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.For one-fourth of the day they stood in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, and for another fourth they were confessing their sins and worshiping the LORD their God.Then the Levites– Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani– stood on the steps and called out loudly to the LORD their God.The Levites– Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah– said,“ Stand up and bless the LORD your God!”“ May you be blessed, O LORD our God, from age to age. May your glorious name be blessed; may it be lifted up above all blessing and praise.You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, along with all their multitude of stars, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You impart life to them all, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.“ You are the LORD God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham.When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a covenant with him to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.“ You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea.You performed awesome signs against Pharaoh, against his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians had acted presumptuously against them. You made for yourself a name that is celebrated to this day.You split the sea before them, and they crossed through the sea on dry ground! But you threw their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into surging waters.You guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illumine for them the path they were to travel.“ You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You provided them with just judgments, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and law to them through Moses your servant.You provided bread from heaven for them in their time of hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their time of thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.“ But they– our ancestors– behaved presumptuously; they rebelled and did not obey your commandments.They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love. You did not abandon them,even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said,‘ This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious blasphemies.“ Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day, nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel.You imparted your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths; you provided water for their thirst.For forty years you sustained them. Even in the desert they never lacked anything. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.“ You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you allocated them to every corner of the land. They inherited the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky. You brought them to the land you had told their ancestors to enter in order to possess.Their descendants entered and possessed the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites who were the inhabitants of the land. You delivered them into their hand, together with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with as they pleased.They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things– wells previously dug, vineyards, olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance. They ate until they were full and grew fat. They enjoyed to the full your great goodness.“ Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. In your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from their adversaries.“ Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again.And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances– those by which an individual, if he obeys them, will live. They boldly turned from you; they rebelled and did not obey.You prolonged your kindness with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.“ So now, our God– the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity– do not regard as inconsequential all the hardship that has befallen us– our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people– from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. It is we who have been in the wrong!Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them.Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible goodness that you had lavished on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices.“ So today we are slaves! In the very land you gave to our ancestors to eat its fruit and to enjoy its good things– we are slaves!Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit, and we are in great distress!

Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! They have taken some of the riches; they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions.The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. I will no longer be with you, unless you destroy what has contaminated you.

The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy.

If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated before its enemies?

“ The LORD will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Who is this who comes from Edom, dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? Who is this one wearing royal attire, who marches confidently because of his great strength?“ It is I, the one who announces vindication, and who is able to deliver!”Why are your clothes red? Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?“ I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself; no one from the nations joined me. I stomped on them in my anger; I trampled them down in my rage. Their juice splashed on my garments, and stained all my clothes.For I looked forward to the day of vengeance, and then payback time arrived.I looked, but there was no one to help; I was shocked because there was no one offering support. So my right arm accomplished deliverance; my raging anger drove me on.I trampled nations in my anger, I made them drunk in my rage, I splashed their blood on the ground.”I will tell of the faithful acts of the LORD, of the LORD’s praiseworthy deeds. I will tell about all the LORD did for us, the many good things he did for the family of Israel, because of his compassion and great faithfulness.He said,“ Certainly they will be my people, children who are not disloyal.” He became their deliverer.Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.But they rebelled and offended his holy Spirit, so he turned into an enemy and fought against them.His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,who led them through the deep water? Like a horse running on flat land they did not stumble.Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, so the Spirit of the LORD granted them rest. In this way you guided your people, gaining for yourself an honored reputation.Look down from heaven and take notice, from your holy, majestic palace! Where are your zeal and power? Do not hold back your tender compassion!For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, LORD, are our father; you have been called our protector from ancient times.Why, LORD, do you make us stray from your ways, and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance!For a short time your special nation possessed a land, but then our adversaries knocked down your holy sanctuary.We existed from ancient times, but you did not rule over them, they were not your subjects.

The Israelites did evil before the LORD by worshiping the Baals.

But if you seek the LORD your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul.In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, if you return to the LORD your God and obey him( for he is a merciful God), he will not let you down or destroy you, for he cannot forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.

“ The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple,then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

They will stumble over each other as those who flee before a sword, though there is no pursuer, and there will be no one to take a stand for you before your enemies.

instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty you will serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you. They will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you.

However, when they confess their iniquity and their ancestors’ iniquity which they committed by trespassing against me, by which they also walked in hostility against me( and I myself will walk in hostility against them and bring them into the land of their enemies), and then their uncircumcised hearts become humbled and they make up for their iniquity,I will remember my covenant with Jacob and also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

This happened because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods;they observed the practices of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before Israel, and followed the example of the kings of Israel.The Israelites said things about the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress.They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.They burned incense on all the high places just like the nations whom the LORD had driven away from before them. Their evil practices made the LORD angry.They worshiped the disgusting idols in blatant disregard of the LORD’s command.The LORD solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers,“ Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.”But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors, who had not trusted the LORD their God.They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to the LORD. They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the LORD’s command.They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, and worshiped Baal.They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD and made him angry.So the LORD was furious with Israel and rejected them; only the tribe of Judah was left.

“ When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses I have set before you, you will reflect upon them in all the nations where the LORD your God has banished you.Then if you and your descendants turn to the LORD your God and obey him with your whole mind and being just as I am commanding you today,the LORD your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he has scattered you.Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back.Then he will bring you to the land your ancestors possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors.The LORD your God will also cleanse your heart and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love him with all your mind and being and so that you may live.

So I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way:“ O Lord, great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant with those who love him and keep his commandments,we have sinned! We have done what is wrong and wicked; we have rebelled by turning away from your commandments and standards.We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, and to all the inhabitants of the land as well.“ You are righteous, O Lord, but we are humiliated this day– the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you.O LORD, we have been humiliated– our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors– because we have sinned against you.Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.We have not obeyed the LORD our God by living according to his laws that he set before us through his servants the prophets.“ All Israel has broken your law and turned away by not obeying you. Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you.He has carried out his threats against us and our rulers who were over us by bringing great calamity on us– what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven!Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom from your reliable moral standards.The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just in all he has done, and we have not obeyed him.“ Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day– we have sinned and behaved wickedly.O Lord, according to all your justice, please turn your raging anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.“ So now, our God, accept the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to your devastated sanctuary for your own sake.Listen attentively, my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins and the city called by your name. For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, but because your compassion is abundant.O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.”

You made us retreat from the enemy. Those who hate us take whatever they want from us.

At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the LORD my God.I prayed,“ O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens.From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and priests, have been delivered over by the local kings to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment– right up to the present time.“ But now briefly we have received mercy from the LORD our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude.Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us to restore the temple of our God and to raise up its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.“ And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandmentswhich you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words:‘ The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness.Therefore do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, and do not take their daughters in marriage for your sons. Do not ever seek their peace or welfare, so that you may be strong and may eat the good of the land and may leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.’“ Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.Shall we once again break your commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples? Would you not be so angered by us that you would wipe us out, with no survivor or remnant?O LORD God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt no one can really stand before you.”

“ Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them,‘ Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the LORD.‘ I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful,’ says the LORD.‘ I will not be angry with you forever.However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the LORD.

Please recall the word you commanded your servant Moses:‘ If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the nations.But if you repent and obey my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.’

The LORD was furious with Israel and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. He turned them over to their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks.Whenever they went out to fight, the LORD did them harm, just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. They suffered greatly.