19. The dazzling light of your presence passed through the four gates of fire, earthquake, wind, and frost, in order to give the Law and its commandments to Jacob's descendants, the people of Israel.
20. Yet you did not remove their evil impulse, but let your Law guide their lives.
21. The first man, Adam, weighed down with an evil impulse, sinned and was defeated, and the same was true of all his descendants.
22. So the disease became permanent, and although the Law was in the hearts of the people, so also was the root of evil! That is why what was good passed away, while what was evil continued.
23. “Many years later you sent your servant David
24. and told him to build a city which would bear your name and in which sacrifices would be offered to you.
25. This was done for many years, but then the inhabitants of the city disobeyed you
26. and sinned just like Adam and all his descendants, because they had the same evil impulse.
27. So you handed over your own city to your enemies.
28. “I said to myself, ‘Perhaps Babylon has been allowed to conquer Jerusalem because the people who live there are better than we are.’
29. But when I got to Babylon, I saw more sins than I could count, and now for thirty years I have seen many sinners here. So I was perplexed
30. when I saw how you tolerate sinners and do not punish them, how you protect your enemies and yet destroy your own people.
31. You haven't given anyone the faintest hint as to how these ways of yours can be changed. Surely Babylon is no better than Jerusalem.
32. No other nation, except Israel, has ever known you or accepted your covenants.
33. But Israel was never rewarded, and never profited from its labour. I have travelled widely in other nations, and I have seen how prosperous they are, although they don't keep your commands.
34. Now then, Lord, if you would just weigh our sins on the scales against those of the rest of the world, it would be perfectly clear that their sins are heavier.
35. There has never been a time when the people of the world did not sin against you; but has any other nation kept your commands as well as Israel has?
36. You may find individuals who have, but you won't find a nation that has done so.”