and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongful deeds have [a]risen above our heads, and our (A)guilt has grown even to the heavens. (B)Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our wrongful deeds we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to [b](C)open shame, as it is this day. But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, (D)to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a [c](E)peg in His holy place, so that our God may (F)enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 9:6 Lit increased over the head
  2. Ezra 9:7 Lit shame of faces
  3. Ezra 9:8 I.e., a foothold

and prayed:

“I am too ashamed(A) and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.(B) From the days of our ancestors(C) until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword(D) and captivity,(E) to pillage and humiliation(F) at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.

“But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious(G) in leaving us a remnant(H) and giving us a firm place[a](I) in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes(J) and a little relief in our bondage.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 9:8 Or a foothold