8. and even our kings, our officials, and our ancestors.
9. Lord God, you are merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against you
10. and rejected your teachings that came to us from your servants the prophets.
11. Everyone in Israel has stubbornly refused to obey your laws, and so those curses written by your servant Moses have fallen upon us.
12. You warned us and our leaders that Jerusalem would suffer the worst disaster in human history, and you did exactly as you had threatened.
13. We have not escaped any of the terrible curses written by Moses, and yet we have refused to beg you for mercy and to remind ourselves of how faithful you have always been.
14. And when you finally punished us with this horrible disaster, that was also the right thing to do, because we deserved it so much.
15. Our Lord God, with your own mighty arm you rescued us from Egypt and made yourself famous to this very day, but we have sinned terribly.
16. In the past, you treated us with such kindness, that we now beg you to stop being so terribly angry with Jerusalem. After all, it is your chosen city built on your holy mountain, even though it has suffered public disgrace because of our sins and those of our ancestors.
17. I am your servant, Lord God, and I beg you to answer my prayers and bring honour to yourself by having pity on your temple that lies in ruins.
18. Please show mercy to your chosen city, not because we deserve it, but because of your great kindness.
19. Forgive us! Hurry and do something, not only for your city and your chosen people, but to bring honour to yourself.
20. I was still confessing my sins and those of all Israel to the Lord my God, and I was praying for the good of his holy mountain,
21. when Gabriel suddenly came flying in at the time of the evening sacrifice. This was the same Gabriel I had seen in my vision,