[Page] 179

...upon us and upon the holy city of our fathers, Jerusalem. In righteousness and in truth have You brought all this upon us because of our sins. We have acted lawlessly and transgressed in rebelling against You; we have sinned in all things, and we have not hearkened to Your commandments. We have not kept [them] and we have not done as You commanded us, that we might find good things from You. Now, all that You have done and whatsoever You have brought upon us, You have done with righteous judgment. You handed us over into the hands of our enemies, lawless, harsh, and rebellious; into the hands of a king, lawless and more evil than all the earth, You handed us over. And now, it is not [the time] for us to open our mouths, for we have become a shame and a reproach to Your servants [and] ministers. But do not deliver us up completely for Your name's sake; do not annul Your covenant, and do not remove Your mercies from us; for the sake of Abraham, Your beloved, Isaac, Your servant, and Israel, Your holy one. You promised them and said: "I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven in multi[tude...]"