* **the people of Israel were assembled** - "the people of Israel came together" (See: [[:en:ta:vol2:translate:figs_activepassive]])
* **they were wearing sackcloth, and they put dust on their heads** - This was in order to show how sorry they were for the wrong things they and their ancestors had done.
* **The descendants of Israel** - "the sons and daughters of Israel" or "the Israelites"
* **separated themselves apart from all the foreigners** - "stood apart from those who were not sons and daughters of Israel"
* **They stood and confessed their own sins and the evil actions of their ancestors** - "They admitted the wrong things that they had done and also the wrong things their forefathers had done"