1 A nd it cometh to pass, in the month of Nisan, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, wine before him, and I lift up the wine, and give to the king, and I had not been sad before him;

And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.

2 a nd the king saith to me, `Wherefore thy face sad, and thou not sick? this is nothing except sadness of heart;' and I fear very much,

So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.

3 a nd say to the king, `Let the king to the age live! wherefore should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of the graves of my fathers, a waste, and its gates have been consumed with fire?'

I said to the king, “ Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”

4 A nd the king saith to me, `For what art thou seeking?' and I pray unto the God of the heavens,

Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5 a nd say to the king, `If to the king good, and if thy servant be pleasing before thee, that thou send me unto Judah, unto the city of the graves of my fathers, and I built it.'

I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

6 A nd the king saith to me (and the queen is sitting near him), `How long is thy journey? and when dost thou return?' and it is good before the king, and he sendeth me away, and I set to him a time.

Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time.

7 A nd I say to the king, `If to the king good, letters let be given to me for the governors beyond the River, that they let me pass over till that I come in unto Judah:

And I said to the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah,

8 a nd a letter unto Asaph, keeper of the paradise that the king hath, that he give to me trees for beams the gates of the palace that the house hath, and for the wall of the city, and for the house into which I enter;' and the king giveth to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.

9 A nd I come in unto the governors beyond the River, and give to them the letters of the king; and the king sendeth with me heads of a force, and horsemen;

Then I came to the governors of the provinces beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

10 a nd Sanballat the Horonite heareth, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and it is evil to them -- a great evil -- that a man hath come in to seek good for the sons of Israel.

When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel. Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls

11 A nd I come in unto Jerusalem, and I am there three days,

So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.

12 a nd I rise by night, I and a few men with me, and have not declared to a man what my God is giving unto my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there is no beast with me except the beast on which I am riding.

And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding.

13 A nd I go out through the gate of the valley by night, and unto the front of the fountain of the dragon, and unto the gate of the dunghill, and I am measuring about the walls of Jerusalem, that are broken down, and its gates consumed with fire.

So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.

14 A nd I pass over unto the gate of the fountain, and unto the pool of the king, and there is no place for the beast under me to pass over,

Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass.

15 a nd I am going up through the brook by night, and am measuring about the wall, and turn back, and come in through the gate of the valley, and turn back.

So I went up at night by the ravine and inspected the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned.

16 A nd the prefects have not known whither I have gone, and what I am doing; and to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the freemen, and to the prefects, and to the rest of those doing the work, hitherto I have not declared;

The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.

17 a nd I say unto them, `Ye are seeing the evil that we are in, in that Jerusalem waste, and its gates have been burnt with fire; come and we build the wall of Jerusalem, and we are not any more a reproach.'

Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.”

18 A nd I declare to them the hand of my God that is good upon me, and also the words of the king that he said to me, and they say, `Let us rise, and we have built;' and they strengthen their hands for good.

I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.

19 A nd Sanballat the Horonite heareth, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, and they mock at us, and despise us, and say, `What this thing that ye are doing? against the king are ye rebelling?'

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

20 A nd I return them word, and say to them, `The God of the heavens -- He doth give prosperity to us, and we His servants rise and have built; and to you there is no portion, and right, and memorial in Jerusalem.'

So I answered them and said to them, “ The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”