1. Xerxes’ son Darius, who was a Mede by birth, was made ruler of the kingdom of Babylon.
2. In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from the Scriptures the number of years that Jerusalem would remain in ruins. The Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah that Jerusalem would remain in ruins for 70 years.
3. So I turned to the Lord God and looked to him for help. I prayed, pleaded, and fasted in sackcloth and ashes.
4. I prayed to the Lord my God. I confessed and said, “Lord, you are great and deserve respect as the only God. You keep your promise and show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments.
5. We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commandments and laws.
6. We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the common people.
7. You, Lord, are righteous. But we—the men of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, and all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far—are still ashamed because we have been unfaithful to you.
8. We, our kings, leaders, and ancestors are ashamed because we have sinned against you, Lord.
9. “But you, Lord our God, are compassionate and forgiving, although we have rebelled against you.
10. We never listened to you or lived by the teachings you gave us through your servants the prophets.
11. All Israel has ignored your teachings and refused to listen to you. So you brought on us the curses you swore in an oath, the curses written in the Teachings of your servant Moses. We sinned against you.
12. So you did what you said you would do to us and our rulers by bringing a great disaster on us. Nowhere in the world has anything ever happened like what has happened to Jerusalem.
13. This entire disaster happened to us, exactly as it was written in Moses’ Teachings. Lord our God, we never tried to gain your favor by turning from our wrongs and dedicating ourselves to your truth.
14. So you were prepared to bring this disaster on us. Lord our God, you are righteous in everything you do. But we never listened to you.