3. When I heard this, I tore my clothes ⌊in distress⌋, pulled hair from my scalp and my beard, and sat down in shock.
4. Since the former exiles had been unfaithful, everyone who gathered around me there trembled at the words of the God of Israel. I sat in shock until the evening sacrifice.
5. At the evening sacrifice I got up from my misery, and with my clothes torn, I knelt down, stretched out my hands to the Lord my God in prayer,
6. and said,“I am ashamed, my God. I am embarrassed to look at you. Our sins have piled up over our heads, and our guilt is so overwhelming that it reaches heaven.
7. From our ancestors’ days until now, we have been deep in guilt. Our kings and our priests have been handed over to foreign kings to be executed. We have been taken captive, robbed, and humiliated, as we still are today because of our sins.
8. And now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been kind enough to leave us a few survivors from Babylon and to give us a secure hold on his holy place. Our God has made our eyes light up and has given us new opportunities while we were slaves.
9. We are slaves, but our God hasn’t abandoned us in our slavery. Instead, he has made the kings of Persia treat us kindly. He did this to give us an opportunity to rebuild our God’s temple and restore its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.