80. Even when we were slaves you did not abandon us; you made the emperors of Persia favour us, so that they gave us food,
81. restored the glory of your Temple, rebuilt the city of Jerusalem out of its ruins, and gave us a place of security here in Judah and Jerusalem.
82. “But now, Lord, what can we say, after you have done all this for us? We have again disobeyed the commands that you gave us through your servants, the prophets. They told us that
83. the land we were to occupy was an impure land because the heathen people who lived in it filled it with their disgusting deeds.