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 Yerusalem.
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 Yerusalem 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 YAHUAH of
heaven,
5 ¶ And said, I beseech thee, O YAHUAH the YAHUAH of heaven, the
great and terrible YAHUAH, 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 YisraYAH thy servants, and confess the sins of the children
of YisraYAH, 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 Mosheh.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Mosheh,
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 Sovereign YAHUAH, 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.