1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2 in the first year of his reign, I Daniel saw diligently in the books the number of the years, of which the Lord spoke unto Jeremiah the prophet, which would conclude the desolation of Jerusalem in seventy years.
3 And I turned my face unto the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, in fasting and sackcloth, and ashes:
4 and I prayed unto the Lord my God and made my confession and said, Now O Lord, thou great God who is worthy to be feared, who keeps the covenant and the mercy with those that love thee and keep thy commandments;
5 we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, and we have been rebels, and we have departed from thy commandments and from thy judgments.
6 We have not hearkened unto thy slaves the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings and to our princes, to our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O Lord, the righteousness belongs unto thee, but unto us the confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near and that are far off through all the lands where thou hast driven them because of their rebellion with which they have rebelled against thee.