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.

Nehemia 1:6

1:6 may your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed ⁴  against you – both I myself and my family ⁵  have sinned.

Nehemia 9:26-30

9:26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. ⁶  They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies. 9:27 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. In your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from ⁷  their adversaries.

9:28 “Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to ⁸  their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again. 9:29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances – those by which an individual, if he obeys them, ⁹  will live. They boldly turned from you; ¹⁰  they rebelled ¹¹  and did not obey. 9:30 You prolonged your kindness ¹²  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ¹³  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ¹⁴ 

Ayub 33:27-28

33:27 That person sings ¹⁵  to others, ¹⁶  saying:

‘I have sinned and falsified what is right,

but I was not punished according to what I deserved. ¹⁷ 

33:28 He redeemed my life ¹⁸ 

from going down to the place of corruption,

and my life sees the light!’

Mazmur 106:6

106:6 We have sinned like ¹⁹  our ancestors; ²⁰ 

we have done wrong, we have done evil.

Yesaya 64:6-12

64:6 We are all like one who is unclean,

all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. ²¹ 

We all wither like a leaf;

our sins carry us away like the wind.

64:7 No one invokes ²²  your name,

or makes an effort ²³  to take hold of you.

For you have rejected us ²⁴ 

and handed us over to our own sins. ²⁵ 

64:8 Yet, ²⁶  Lord, you are our father.

We are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the product of your labor. ²⁷ 

64:9 Lord, do not be too angry!

Do not hold our sins against us continually! ²⁸ 

Take a good look at your people, at all of us! ²⁹ 

64:10 Your chosen ³⁰  cities have become a desert;

Zion has become a desert,

Jerusalem ³¹  is a desolate ruin.

64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy, ³² 

the place where our ancestors praised you,

has been burned with fire;

all our prized possessions have been destroyed. ³³ 

64:12 In light of all this, ³⁴  how can you still hold back, Lord?

How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

Yeremia 3:12-14

The Lord Calls on Israel and Judah to Repent

3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. ³⁵  Tell them,

‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.

‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. ³⁶ 

For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.

‘I will not be angry with you forever.

3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, ³⁷ 

and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.

You must confess ³⁸  that you have given yourself to ³⁹  foreign gods under every green tree,

and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.

3:14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master. ⁴⁰  If you do, ⁴¹  I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion.

Yeremia 31:18-20

31:18 I have indeed ⁴²  heard the people of Israel ⁴³  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ⁴⁴ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ⁴⁵ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ⁴⁶ 

for you are the Lord our God.

31:19 For after we turned away from you we repented.

After we came to our senses ⁴⁷  we beat our breasts in sorrow. ⁴⁸ 

We are ashamed and humiliated

because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’ ⁴⁹ 

31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.

They are the children I take delight in. ⁵⁰ 

For even though I must often rebuke them,

I still remember them with fondness.

So I am deeply moved with pity for them ⁵¹ 

and will surely have compassion on them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁵² 

Daniel 9:5-11

9:5 we have sinned! We have done what is wrong and wicked; we have rebelled by turning away from your commandments and standards. 9:6 We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority ⁵³  to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, ⁵⁴  and to all the inhabitants ⁵⁵  of the land as well.

9:7 “You are righteous, ⁵⁶  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ⁵⁷  – the people ⁵⁸  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you. 9:8 O LORD, we have been humiliated ⁵⁹  – our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors – because we have sinned against you. 9:9 Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, ⁶⁰  even though we have rebelled against him. 9:10 We have not obeyed ⁶¹  the LORD our God by living according to ⁶²  his laws ⁶³  that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

9:11 “All Israel has broken ⁶⁴  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ⁶⁵  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ⁶⁶  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ⁶⁷ 

Lukas 15:18-19

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ⁶⁸  against heaven ⁶⁹  and against ⁷⁰  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ⁷¹  like one of your hired workers.”’

[9:6]  ¹ tn Heb “I said.”

[9:7]  ² tc The MT lacks “and” here, but see the LXX and Vulgate.

[9:7]  ³ tn Heb “the kings of the lands.”

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “have sinned.” For stylistic reasons – to avoid redundancy in English – this was translated as “committed.”

[1:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the house of my father.”

[9:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”

[9:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the hand of” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “from the power of.”

[9:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the hand of” (so KJV, ASV); NAB “to the power of.”

[9:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “if a man keep.” See note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

[9:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they gave a stubborn shoulder.”

[9:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they stiffened their neck.”

[9:30]  ¹² tn The Hebrew expression here is elliptical. The words “your kindness” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “did not give ear to.”

[9:30]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[33:27]  ¹⁵ tc The verb יָשֹׁר (yashor) is unusual. The typical view is to change it to יָשִׁיר (yashir, “he sings”), but that may seem out of harmony with a confession. Dhorme suggests a root שׁוּר (shur, “to repeat”), but this is a doubtful root. J. Reider reads it יָשֵׁיר (yasher) and links it to an Arabic word “confesses” (ZAW 24 [1953]: 275).

[33:27]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to men.”

[33:27]  ¹⁷ tn The verb שָׁוָה (shavah) has the impersonal meaning here, “it has not been requited to me.” The meaning is that the sinner has not been treated in accordance with his deeds: “I was not punished according to what I deserved.”

[33:28]  ¹⁸ sn See note on “him” in v. 24.

[106:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “with.”

[106:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7).

[64:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “and like a garment of menstruation [are] all our righteous acts”; KJV, NIV “filthy rags”; ASV “a polluted garment.”

[64:7]  ²² tn Or “calls out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “calls on.”

[64:7]  ²³ tn Or “rouses himself”; NASB “arouses himself.”

[64:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for you have hidden your face from us.”

[64:7]  ²⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and you caused us to melt in the hand of our sin.” The verb וַתְּמוּגֵנוּ (vattÿmugenu) is a Qal preterite 2nd person masculine singular with a 1st person common plural suffix from the root מוּג (mug, “melt”). However, elsewhere the Qal of this verb is intransitive. If the verbal root מוּג (mug) is retained here, the form should be emended to a Polel pattern (וַתְּמֹגְגֵנוּ, vattÿmogÿgenu). The translation assumes an emendation to וַתְּמַגְּנֵנוּ (vattÿmaggÿnenu, “and you handed us over”). This form is a Piel preterite 2nd person masculine singular with a 1st person common plural suffix from the verbal root מִגֵּן (miggen, “hand over, surrender”; see HALOT 545 s.v. מגן and BDB 171 s.v. מָגָן). The point is that God has abandoned them to their sinful ways and no longer seeks reconciliation.

[64:8]  ²⁶ tn On the force of וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah) here, see HALOT 902 s.v. עַתָּה.

[64:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the work of your hand.”

[64:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “do not remember sin continually.”

[64:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Look, gaze at your people, all of us.” Another option is to translate, “Take a good look! We are all your people.”

[64:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “holy” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT); NIV “sacred.”

[64:10]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[64:11]  ³² tn Heb “our source of pride.”

[64:11]  ³³ tn Or “all that we valued has become a ruin.”

[64:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “because of these”; KJV, ASV “for these things.”

[3:12]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Go and proclaim these words to the north.” The translation assumes that the message is directed toward the exiles of northern Israel who have been scattered in the provinces of Assyria to the north.

[3:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”

[3:13]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”

[3:13]  ³⁸ tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.

[3:13]  ³⁹ tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.

[3:13]  tn Heb “scattered your ways with foreign [gods]” or “spread out your breasts to strangers.”

[3:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “I am your true husband.”

[3:14]  sn There is a wordplay between the term “true master” and the name of the pagan god Baal. The pronoun “I” is emphatic, creating a contrast between the Lord as Israel’s true master/husband versus Baal as Israel’s illegitimate lover/master. See 2:23-25.

[3:14]  ⁴¹ tn The words, “If you do” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection of the Hebrew verb with the preceding.

[31:18]  ⁴² tn The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f).

[31:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on 31:9. The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.

[31:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11).

[31:18]  sn Jer 2:20; 5:5 already referred to Israel’s refusal to bear the yoke of loyalty and obedience to the Lord’s demands. Here Israel expresses that she has learned from the discipline of exile and is ready to bear his yoke.

[31:18]  ⁴⁵ tn The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.

[31:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 s.v. Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see GKC 320 §108.d or IBHS 575 §34.5.2b.

[31:18]  sn There is a wordplay on several different nuances of the same Hebrew verb in vv. 16-19. The Hebrew verb shub refers both to their turning away from God (v. 19) and to their turning back to him (v. 18). It is also the word that is used for their return to their homeland (vv. 16-17).

[31:19]  ⁴⁷ tn For this meaning of the verb see HAL 374 s.v. יָדַע Nif 5 or W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 129. REB translates “Now that I am submissive” relating the verb to a second root meaning “be submissive.” (See HALOT 375 s.v. II יָדַע and J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 19-21, for evidence for this verb. Other passages cited with this nuance are Judg 8:16; Prov 10:9; Job 20:20.)

[31:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “I struck my thigh.” This was a gesture of grief and anguish (cf. Ezek 21:12 [21:17 HT]). The modern equivalent is “to beat the breast.”

[31:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “because I bear the reproach of my youth.” For the plural referents see the note at the beginning of v. 18.

[31:19]  sn The expression the disgraceful things we did in our earlier history refers to the disgrace that accompanied the sins that Israel did in her earlier years before she learned the painful lesson of submission to the Lord through the discipline of exile. For earlier references to the sins of her youth (i.e., in her earlier years as a nation) see 3:24-25; 22:21 and see also 32:29. At the time that these verses were written, neither northern Israel or Judah had expressed the kind of contrition voiced in vv. 18-19. As one commentator notes, the words here are both prophetic and instructive.

[31:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.

[31:20]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.

[31:20]  ⁵² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[9:6]  ⁵³ tn Heb “in your name.” Another option is to translate, “as your representatives.”

[9:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.

[9:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[9:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”

[9:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”

[9:7]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “men.”

[9:8]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”

[9:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”

[9:10]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “paid attention to the voice of,” which is an idiomatic expression for obedience (cf. NASB “nor have we obeyed the voice of”).

[9:10]  ⁶² tn Heb “to walk in.”

[9:10]  ⁶³ tc The LXX and Vulgate have the singular.

[9:11]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “him.”

[15:18]  ⁶⁸ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ⁶⁹ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ⁷⁰ tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ⁷¹ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.