²⁶ Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, ^(A)went up and came to ^[a]the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

The People Confess Their Sins

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^(A)this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, ^(B)and with ^[a]dust on their heads.

² Then ^(A)those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and ^(B)confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

^3 (A)Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O ^(B)Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ^5 (C)we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

A Call to Repentance