1. These things happened during the first year that Darius son of Ahasuerus was king. Darius was a Mede by birth, but he was appointed to be the king of Babylon.
2. During his first year as king, I was studying the Scriptures and noticed in the Lord’S message to Jeremiah that 70 years would pass before Jerusalem would be rebuilt.
3. Then I turned to the Lord God. I prayed to him and asked him for help. I did not eat any food. I put ashes on my head and put on the clothes that showed I was sad.
4. I prayed to the Lord my God and told him about all my sins. I said, “Lord, you are a great and awesome God. You keep your agreement of love and kindness with people who love you. You keep your agreement with the people who obey your commands.
5. “But we have sinned. We have done wrong. We have done evil things. We turned against you. We turned away from your commands and good decisions.
6. The prophets were your servants. They spoke for you to our kings, to our leaders, to our fathers, and to the common people in our country. But we did not listen to them.
7. “Lord, you are innocent, and the shame belongs to us, even now. Shame belongs to the people from Judah and Jerusalem, and to all the people of Israel, to those who are near and to those you scattered among many nations. They should be ashamed of all the evil things they did against you.
8. “Lord, we should all be ashamed. All our kings and leaders should be ashamed. Our ancestors should be ashamed, because we sinned against you.