1. These things happened during the first year Darius son of Xerxes was king. He was a descendant of the Medes.
2. During Darius’ first year as king, I, Daniel, was reading the Scriptures. In them I saw what the Lord told Jeremiah. He said Jerusalem would be an empty desert for 70 years.
3. Then I turned to the Lord God. I prayed to him and asked him for help. I did not eat any food. To show how sad I was I put on rough cloth and sat in ashes.
4. I prayed to the Lord my God. I told him about all of my sins. I said, “Lord, you are a great God. You cause fear and wonder. You keep your agreement of love with all who love you and obey your commands.
5. “But we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and turned against you. We have not obeyed your commands and laws.
6. We did not listen to your servants, the prophets. They spoke for you to our kings, our leaders and our ancestors. They spoke to all the people of the land.
7. “Lord, you are good and right. But we are full of shame today. The people of Judah and Jerusalem and all the people of Israel are ashamed. People near and far whom you scattered among many nations are ashamed. We were not loyal to you.
8. Lord, we are all ashamed. Our kings and leaders and our fathers are ashamed. This is because we have sinned against you.
9. “But, Lord our God, you show us mercy. You forgive us even though we have turned against you.
10. We have not obeyed the Lord our God. We have not obeyed the teachings he gave us through his servants, the prophets.
11. All the people of Israel have disobeyed your teachings. They all have turned away and refused to obey you. So you brought on us the curses and promises of punishment written in the Teachings of Moses, the servant of God. These things have happened to us because we sinned against you.