Daniel's prayer presents a sharp contrast between God's perfect justice and the deep lowliness of the exiled nation. From the depths of destruction, recognizing responsibility for their tragic situation does not lead the people to despair, but rather to a clear understanding of the balance of guilt and justice between the Creator and His creations.
The primary approach among commentators is that God's actions represent pure justice. The harsh judgments and disasters He brought upon the nation are completely justified. However, another perspective views this divine righteousness as an expression of kindness and mercy. In this light, God showed immense grace by not destroying the nation completely, ensuring a surviving remnant remained in exile [מצודת דוד, אלשיך]. Additionally, this divine kindness is seen in the way God provides the people with simple, accessible paths to earn His mercy and bring redemption closer [חומת אנך].
In stark contrast to God's righteousness stands the deep shame of the people, born from the realization that they brought the disaster upon themselves. This shame belongs entirely to the nation. The ongoing exile is not a result of God lacking the power to save them, but rather a direct consequence of the people's sins delaying their own redemption [מצודת דוד]. One might mistakenly assume that God Himself would feel embarrassed to welcome back a nation that betrayed Him and traded His glory for idols. Therefore, Daniel emphasizes that the burden of shame rests squarely on the people, while God retains only the righteous grace of bringing back His banished children [אלשיך].
This shame is not merely a private, internal feeling, but a public disgrace before the entire world. The surrounding nations are well aware that the exile is a punishment for Israel's sins. When even foreign nations recognize God's greatness, the shame of the Israelites is sharpened even further, as they realize they abandoned such a great God in favor of empty idol worship [מלבי״ם, אלשיך].
The scope of this shame encompasses all parts of the fragmented nation, wherever they were scattered in exile [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem represent those who were exiled relatively close to the Land of Israel during the later waves of captivity, and they are considered the near ones. Conversely, the rest of Israel refers to the ten tribes who were exiled many years earlier by the Assyrian empire, representing the far ones [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. All of them share in the disgrace brought about by their crimes and betrayal against God [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
Out of deep humility, Daniel includes himself with the nation, speaking collectively about carrying the shame. However, when specifying the actual betrayal that caused the exile, he subtly shifts his language to refer to the people in the third person. By doing so, he separates himself from the actual sinners, as he personally remained faithful and was only swept into exile because of the collective guilt of his generation [יוסף אבן יחיא].