All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.

We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.

We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”

The Egyptians were urging the people on, in order to send them out of the land quickly, for they were saying, “We are all dead!”

The Israelites said to Moses, “We are bound to die! We perish, we all perish!

Is not Calneh like Carchemish? Hamath like Arpad? Samaria like Damascus?

We all growl like bears, we coo mournfully like doves; we wait for deliverance, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

Yet, Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the product of your labor.

He did not make this covenant with our ancestors but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now.

They replied to the king, “As for this man who exterminated us and who schemed against us so that we were destroyed and left without status throughout all the borders of Israel –

Lord, do not be too angry! Do not hold our sins against us continually! Take a good look at your people, at all of us!

But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son. We shouldn’t all go. We shouldn’t burden you in that way.” Though Absalom pressed him, the king was not willing to go. Instead, David blessed him.

It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.