And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. {wept...: Heb. wept a great weeping}

Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Thou shalt arise, {and} have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

I will gather {them that are} sorrowful for the solemn assembly, {who} are of thee, {to whom} the reproach of it {was} a burden. {reproach...: Heb. the burden upon it was reproach}

That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise {men} of Babylon. {of the God: Chaldee, from before God} {that Daniel...: or, that they should not destroy Daniel, etc}

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

And he said unto them, I {am} an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry {land}. {the LORD: or, JEHOVAH}

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.

And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. {full...: Heb. weeks of days}

So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that {his} grief was very great.

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

And he said unto them, I {am} an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry {land}. {the LORD: or, JEHOVAH}

Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard {thee}, saith the LORD.

O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy {endureth} for ever.

And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done {that which is} good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. {sore: Heb. with great weeping}

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.