Ezra 9:3–8

3 When I heard this, I torew my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled.x 4 Then everyone who trembledy at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalledz until the evening sacrifice.

5 Then, at the evening sacrifice,a I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my handsb spread out to the Lord my God 6 and prayed:

“I am too ashamedc and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.d 7 From the days of our ancestorse until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the swordf and captivity,g to pillage and humiliationh at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.

8 “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been graciousi in leaving us a remnantj and giving us a firm placea k in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyesl and a little relief in our bondage.