Master! Understand our thoughts!

Listen to our murmuring when we cry out.

For our iniquities

do not allow us to disintegrate.

For our evil

do not allow us to be humiliated.

Our sinful matters have increased;

they have grown to the heavens.

The moving to and fro

of the shaking souls,¹

footnotes: ¹ It is customary to move to and from during prayer.

Beloved One,² turn to us in response!

footnotes: ² I.e. God.

We have sinned, our Rock;

Pardon us our Creator!

We have enraged You, O God of our praises.

We have angered You with our many follies,

and, therefore, our hope has been impeded

and our inheritance has reverted to strangers.

We have been scattered

from our House of Life,³

footnotes: ³ I.e. the Temple.

for we demeaned the House of our Desire.³

footnotes: ³ I.e. the Temple.

The Place of our Desire was destroyed.

[The bringing of] of sacrifices⁴ has ceased.

footnotes: ⁴ ‘נחוחי רצויינו‘—lit. the pleasant odors that we brought to please God.

We have sinned, our Rock;

Pardon us our Creator!

We have strayed from the straight path.

We were too foolish to straighten our footsteps

for we abhorred propriety.

Our enemies

You have thrown upon us as an eagle.

Pul⁵ captured my congregation,

footnotes: ⁵ King of Assyria.

he has weakened me and confused me.

I was hauled off to Lachlach and Chovor⁶

footnotes: ⁶ Cities in Assyria.

to distance me from my border.⁷

footnotes: ⁷ I.e. the Land of Israel.

We have sinned, our Rock;

Pardon us our Creator!

The holy remnant that was left

from the holy crowning city⁸

footnotes: ⁸ I.e. Jerusalem.

spoke words of rebelliousness against You.

[Therefore,] You rose up

and removed Your Spirit [from us].

Nebo⁹ eroded all my heroes,

footnotes: ⁹ Pagan god of the Babylonians, an allusion to Nebuchadnezzar.

and destroyed all my courageous.

He broke all my limbs

and I was weakened by my destroyers.

We have sinned, our Rock;

Pardon us our Creator!

We trembled from our many hardships;

we cracked from difficult illnesses.

We hoped that You would show us redemption

[but, instead] troubles still beckon us.

Holy One of Israel! See

the humiliation of Your beloved [people]

that is distraught.

She has fallen from her honor

and been ruined.

Heal her broken [limbs] for she has sunk.

We have sinned, our Rock;

Pardon us our Creator!

Hear the prayers of the mouths [of Israel],

establish the magnificent structure.¹⁰

footnotes: ¹⁰ The Temple.

Return [to us], God of all creatures.

Return the banished among lions.¹¹

footnotes: ¹¹ The nations of the world.

Please! bandage our wounds;

please, heal our diseases;

hear the sound of our song;

accept with compassion and willingness

our prayers.

We have sinned, our Rock;

Pardon us our Creator!

Remember to us the covenant of the Patriarchs,

as You promised,

“And I will remember my covenant with Jacob,

and also my covenant with Isaac,

and also my covenant with Abraham

will I remember,”

and the land I will remember.

Remember to us the covenant of the ancestors,

as You promised,

“And I will remember for their sake,

the covenant with their ancestors,

whom I brought out

of the land of Egypt,

in the sight of the nations;

to be their God

I am Adonoy.”

Do unto us as You promised,

“And yet for all that,

when they are in the land of their enemies,

I will not reject them

and I will not abhor them, to destroy them,

to annul My covenant with them;

for I am Adonoy, their God.”

Be accessible to us when we seek You,

as it is written:

“And from there

you will seek Adonoy, your God,

and you will find Him;

if you search after Him

with all your heart

and with all your soul.”

Open our hearts

to love Your Name,

as it is written in Your Torah:

“And Adonoy, your God will open your heart,

and the heart of your descendants,

to love Adonoy, your God,

with all your heart,

and with all your soul,

that you may live.”

Sprinkle clean water upon us,

and cleanse us, as it is written:

“And I will sprinkle clean water upon you,

and you will be clean;

from all your defilements,

and from all your idols,

I will cleanse you.”

Sweep aside our transgressions

as a thick cloud and as a mist,

as You have promised:

“I have swept away like a thick cloud

your transgressions,

and like a mist, your sins;

return to Me, for I have redeemed You.”

Blot out our transgressions for Your sake,

as You promised:

“I, I [alone] am He

Who blots out your transgressions

for My own sake;

and your sins, I will not recall.”

Make our sins as white as snow or wool,

as it is written:

“Come now, let us reason together,

says Adonoy,

though your sins be as scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they be red as crimson,

they shall become [white] as wool.”

Have compassion on us and do not destroy us,

as it is written:

“For an Almighty of mercy is Adonoy,

your God;

He will not abandon you or destroy you,

and He will not forget

the covenant of your fathers

which He swore to them.”

Gather our dispersed ones, as it is written:

“If your dispersed

are in the farthermost part of heaven,

from there Adonoy, your God will gather you,

and from there He will take you.”

Bring back our captivity

and have compassion on us,

as it is written:

“And Adonoy, your God will return

your captivity and have compassion on you;

and He will again gather you

from [among] all the peoples,

where Adonoy, your God has scattered you.”

Bring us to Your holy mountain,

and make us joyful in Your House of Prayer,

as it is written:

“And I will bring them to My holy mountain,

and make them joyful in My House of Prayer;

their burnt-offerings and sacrifices

will be accepted with favor on My Altar,

for My House,

will be called a House of Prayer

for all peoples.”