Ezra 9:6-7

9:6 I prayed, ¹ 

“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens. 9:7 From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and ²  priests, have been delivered over by the local kings ³  to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment – right up to the present time.

Ezra 9:15

9:15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt ⁴  no one can really stand before you.”

¹ tn Heb “I said.”

² tc The MT lacks “and” here, but see the LXX and Vulgate.

³ tn Heb “the kings of the lands.”

⁴ tn Heb “this”; the referent (the guilt mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.