“ 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,

“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、

“ 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 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,

“ 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 so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.Standing on the stairs of the Levites were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani. They cried out with loud voices to the Lord their God.And the Levites— Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah— said:“ Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.”“ Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.“ You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.“ You saw the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea.You sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day.You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters.By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.“ You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good.You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them.“ But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff- necked, and they did not obey your commands.They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them,even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said,‘ This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies.“ Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take.You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.“ You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan.You made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their parents to enter and possess.Their children went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you gave the Canaanites into their hands, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased.They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.“ But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies.So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.“ But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time.“ You warned them in order to turn them back to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, of which you said,‘ The person who obeys them will live by them.’ Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff- necked and refused to listen.For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.“ Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty and awesome, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes— the hardship that has come on us, on our kings and leaders, on our priests and prophets, on our ancestors and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly.Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our ancestors did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep.Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways.“ But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces.Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.

Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies?

The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.

Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength?“ It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.”Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?“ I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing.It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come.I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.”I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.He said,“ Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me”; and so he became their Savior.In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people— where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them,who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown,who led them through the depths? Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble;like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord. This is how you guided your people to make for yourself a glorious name.Look down from heaven and see, from your lofty throne, holy and glorious. Where are your zeal and your might? Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us.But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.Why, Lord, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance.For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.We are yours from of old; but you have not ruled over them, they have not been called by your name.

Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him.For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

“ When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.

therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

“‘ But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors— their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me,which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies— then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin,I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other godsand followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns.They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger.They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said,“ You shall not do this.”The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers:“ Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God.They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them,“ Do not do as they do.”They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal.They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left,

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations,and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today,then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:“ Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.“ Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame— the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you.The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.“ Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.“ Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.“ Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us.

Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my Godand prayed:“ I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.“ But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.“ But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commandsyou gave through your servants the prophets when you said:‘ The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other.Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.’“ What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this.Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor?Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.”

Go, proclaim this message toward the north:“‘ Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord,‘ I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord,‘ I will not be angry forever.Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord.

“ Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying,‘ If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.