“Now your servants!
We cannot
Open our mouths!
We cannot
Worship you!
We have become
A shame!
We have become
A reproach!
For your name’s sake,
Do not give us up forever!
Do not annul your covenant!
Do not withdraw
Your mercy
From us!
For the sake of Abraham,
Your beloved,
For the sake of Isaac,
Your servant,
For the sake of Israel,
Your holy one,
Do not withdraw
Your mercy!
You promised
To multiply their descendants
Like the stars of heaven,
Like the sand on the shore
Of the sea.”
Azariah made a plea to God to have mercy on him and his friends. They were not able to open their mouths to worship God. They had become a shame and a reproach for the sake of God’s name. He wanted God not to give up on them or annul the covenant that he had made with Israel. He did not want God to withdraw his mercy from them. He reminded God about Abraham, the beloved one, Isaac, his servant, and Israel, the holy one. God had promised to multiply their descendants, like the stars in heaven or like the sand on the sea shore.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 