1 The words of Nehemiah the son of
Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as
I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men
of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were
left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the
captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the
wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are
burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat
down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before
the God of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great
and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and
observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that
thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day
and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the
children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's
house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept
the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst
thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy
servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you
abroad among the nations:
9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my
commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost
part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and
will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou
hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to
the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear
thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy
in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
