Howbeit thou [art] just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:
Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.
For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
Behold, we [are] servants this day, and [for] the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we [are] servants in it:
And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we [are] in great distress.
And because of all this we make a sure [covenant], and write [it]; and our princes, Levites, [and] priests, seal [unto it].
Now those that sealed [were], Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,
Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah,
