| Chapter 1 |
| 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. |
