29. “You warned them in order to restore them again to Your law, but they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances (which would enable a man to live, if he would do them), stubbornly turning away and becoming belligerent so that they would not hear.
30. For many years You endured them and warned them by Your Spirit in Your prophets, yet they would not listen. Therefore, You gave them into the hand of the people of the lands.
31. Nevertheless, for the sake of Your abundant mercy, You did not completely destroy them or forsake them. Indeed, You are a gracious and merciful God.
32. “Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the hardship, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day, that has come on us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and on all Your people seem insignificant to You.
33. You are righteous for everything that has come upon us! You have acted faithfully while we have done wickedly.
34. For our kings, princes, priests, and fathers have failed to keep Your law and did not obey Your commandments and Your warnings even when You confronted them.
35. For whether in their kingdom or in Your abundant goodness (that You gave them) or in the spacious and fertile land (that You set before them), they have neither served You nor turned away from their wicked deeds.
36. “Here we are, slaves today. The land that You gave to our fathers was for eating its fruit and its goodness. Behold, we have become slaves on account of it,
37. because its abundant produce belongs to the kings whom You have set over us due to our sins. They have control over our bodies and over our livestock, as they please. We are in great distress.”
38. So on the basis of all this, we are executing a written agreement that is being sealed by our princes, Levites, and priests.