1. It was the first year that Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of the race of the Medes, reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans;
2. in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years the Lord had decreed to the prophet Jeremiah: Jerusalem was to lie in ruins for seventy years.
3. I turned to the Lord God, to seek help, in prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4. I prayed to the Lord, my God, and confessed, “Ah, Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your covenant and show mercy toward those who love you and keep your commandments and your precepts!
5. We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and turned from your commandments and your laws.