The structure of these two verses is parallel to that of verses 7-8:

• Verses 7, 9: The Lord has brought disaster on us.

• Verses 8, 10: Yet we have not repented.

Good News Translation has condensed these two verses by eliminating some repetition. It also reverses the order of verses 9 and 10, which makes a neat arrangement, and sets out a logical chain of cause (verse 10) and effect (verse 9). The great advantage of the original order, however, is that it has this long prayer of confession end on a note of confession with verse 10.

An alternative model for verses 9-10 is:

• The Lord meant what he said about those disasters, and he brought them down on us. This is because the Lord was righteous [or, just] in every command that he gave us. But we did not obey him. We did not live by the laws that he gave us.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.