Nehemiah 9:32–37

³²“Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty^s and awesome,^t who keeps his covenant of love,^u do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship^v that has come on us, on our kings and leaders, on our priests and prophets, on our ancestors and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. ³³In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous;^w you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly.^{x 34}Our kings,^y our leaders, our priests and our ancestors^z did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep. ³⁵Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness^a to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you^b or turn from their evil ways.

³⁶“But see, we are slaves^c today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. ³⁷Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.^d