¹ The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your tribe ²  with you must bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, ³  and you and your sons with you must bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

However, when ¹  they confess their iniquity and their ancestors’ iniquity which they committed by trespassing against me, ²  by which they also walked ³  in hostility against me ⁴ 

The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord. ¹ 

Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.’”

Then I confessed my sin; I no longer covered up my wrongdoing. I said, “I will confess ¹  my rebellious acts to the Lord.” And then you forgave my sins. ²  (Selah)

You severely discipline people for their sins; ¹  like a moth you slowly devour their strength. ²  Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)

Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury. ¹ 

Lord, do not be too angry! Do not hold our sins against us continually! ¹  Take a good look at your people, at all of us! ² 

You show unfailing love to thousands. ¹  But you also punish children for the sins of their parents. ²  You are the great and powerful God who is known as the Lord who rules over all. ³ 

ו (Vav) The punishment ¹  of my people ²  exceeded that of ³  of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her. ⁴ 

I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days ¹  for you – 390 days. ²  So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. ³ 

But those in Jerusalem ¹  will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, ²  but the king of Babylon ³  will accuse them of violations ⁴  in order to seize them. ⁵ 

“‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, ¹  whose day has come, the time of final punishment,

It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. ¹  Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’”

“‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword ¹  at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment.

whenever I want to heal Israel, the sin of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed. For they do what is wrong; thieves break into houses, and gangs rob people out in the streets.

Ephraim boasts, ¹  “I am very rich! I have become wealthy! ²  In all that I have done to gain my wealth, ³  no one can accuse me of any offense ⁴  that is actually sinful.” ⁵ 

Return to the Lord and repent! ¹  Say to him: “Completely ²  forgive our iniquity; accept ³  our penitential prayer, ⁴  that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls. ⁵ 

There is no other God like you! ¹  You ²  forgive sin and pardon ³  the rebellion of those who remain among your people. ⁴  You do not remain angry forever, ⁵  but delight in showing loyal love.

Judah replied, “What can we say ¹  to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? ²  God has exposed the sin of your servants! ³  We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”