1The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, (Ne 2:1; Ne 10:1; Es 1:2; Es 1:5; Es 2:3; Es 2:5; Zec 7:1)2that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. (Ne 7:2)3And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” (2Ki 25:10; Ne 2:3; Ne 2:13; Ne 2:17)
Nehemiah’s Prayer
4As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (Ezr 9:3; Ne 2:4)5And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, (De 7:21; Ne 9:32; Da 9:4)6let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. (1Ki 8:29; 2Ch 6:40; Ezr 10:1; Ps 106:6; Da 9:18; Da 9:20)7We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. (De 28:15; Da 9:5)8Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, (Le 26:33; De 4:25; De 28:64)9but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ (Le 26:39; De 4:29; De 12:5; De 30:2; De 30:4)10They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. (De 9:29)11O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king. (Ne 1:6; Ne 2:1)
1The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,2Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.3They said to me, ‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’4When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.5Then I said: ‘Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,6let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.7We have acted very wickedly towards you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.8‘Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,9but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”10‘They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.11Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.’ I was cupbearer to the king.
Nehemiah 1
King James Version
1The 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,2That 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.3And 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.4And 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,5And 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:6Let 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' house have sinned.7We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.8Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:9But 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.10Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.11O 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' cupbearer.
1These are the words of Nehemiah. He was the son of Hakaliah. I was in the fort of Susa. I was there in the 20th year that Artaxerxes was king. It was in the month of Kislev.2At that time Hanani came from Judah with some other men. He was one of my brothers. I asked him and the other men about the Jews who were left alive in Judah. They had returned from Babylon. I also asked him about Jerusalem.3He and the men with him said to me, ‘Some of the people who returned are still alive. They are back in the land of Judah. But they are having a hard time. They are ashamed. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down. Its gates have been burned with fire.’4When I heard about these things, I sat down and wept. For several days I was very sad. I didn’t eat any food. And I prayed to the God of heaven.5I said, ‘LORD, you are the God of heaven. You are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with those who love you and obey your commandments. You show them your love.6Please pay careful attention to my prayer. See how your people are suffering. Please listen to me. I’m praying to you day and night. I’m praying for the people of Israel. We Israelites have committed sins against you. All of us admit it. I and my family have also sinned against you.7We’ve done some very evil things. We haven’t obeyed the commands, rules and laws you gave your servant Moses.8‘Remember what you told him. You said, “If you people are not faithful, I will scatter you among the nations.9But if you return to me, I will bring you back. If you obey my commands, I will gather you together again. I will bring you back from the farthest places on earth. I will bring you to the special place where I have chosen to put my Name.”10‘LORD, they are your people. They serve you. You used your great strength and mighty hand to set them free from Egypt.11Lord, please pay careful attention to my prayer. Listen to the prayers of all of us. We take delight in bringing honour to your name. Give me success today when I bring my request to King Artaxerxes.’ I was the king’s wine taster.