73 Then I got up from where I had been fasting, and still wearing my torn clothes, I knelt in prayer and stretched out my hands to the Lord.
74 I said, “O Lord, I am ashamed and confused in your presence.
75 Our sins tower over our heads; they reach as high as the heavens.
76 This has been true from the days of our ancestors until now; we, your people, have sinned greatly.
77 Because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors, we and our relatives, our kings, and our priests have fallen into the hands of foreign kings, and we have been slaughtered, robbed, and carried away as prisoners. We have been totally disgraced, as we still are today.
78 Now, Lord, for a short time you have shown us great mercy. You have allowed just a few of us to survive in order to carry on the name of Israel here in your holy Temple.
79 You have let the light of our nation shine again, after feeding us and taking care of us during the time of our slavery.