| 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
