(They gave their word ¹  to send away their wives; their guilt offering was a ram from the flock for their guilt.)

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.

“Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint ¹  toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel.

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 ¹  priests, have been delivered over by the local kings ²  to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment – right up to the present time.

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 ¹  no one can really stand before you.”