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I prayed to the Lord, my God, and made this confession, saying:

Lord, Have Mercy.[a] “O Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your covenant and show your steadfast love to those who love you and observe your commandments: we have sinned and done what is wrong, we have acted wickedly and rebelled, we have rejected your commandments and your laws. We have not listened to your servants the Prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

“Righteousness is on your side, O Lord. As for us, we are filled with shame even to this day—we, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the countries to which you have dispersed us because of the treachery that we have committed against you.

“O Lord, we are filled with shame—our kings, our princes, and our fathers—for having sinned against you. But you, O Lord, our God, are always prepared to show compassion and forgiveness. Yet we rebelled against you 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, our God, by following your laws that you have given to us through your servants the Prophets.

11 “All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away from you, refusing to obey your commands. Therefore, the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down upon us because we have sinned against you. 12 You confirmed your threats, which you made against us and our rulers by bringing upon us in Jerusalem the greatest calamity that the world has ever experienced.

13 “Just as it is written[b] in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us. We failed to entreat the favor of the Lord, our God, by renouncing our wickedness and reflecting upon his fidelity. 14 Therefore, the Lord has watched us carefully, and now he has brought this disaster upon us. The Lord is just in all of his dealings with us, but we have not listened to his voice.

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 9:4 This prayer recalls the canticle of Azariah (included in the Septuagint as Dan 3:26-45) and the liturgies of repentance after the Exile (Ezr 9; Neh 9).
  2. Daniel 9:13 Just as it is written: first usage of this formula of Scripture citation in the Bible.