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 to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.

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,

Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully 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?'

and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with 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 do 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.'

And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that 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 also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a 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:

Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till 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 must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon 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 went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

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 of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel. Nehemiah Views the Wall of Jerusalem

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.

Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.

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.

And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with 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 went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me 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 in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so 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;

And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others 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 distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may 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.

And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this 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, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel 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 Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”