1 The words of (A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.Now it happened in (B)the month Chislev, (C)in the twentieth year, while I was in (D)Susa the (a)capitol,
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,
1 The words of Nehemiah(A) son of Hacaliah:During the month of Chislev(a)(B) in the twentieth year,(b)(C) when I was in the fortress city of Susa,(D)
1 In this document, I, Hacaliah's son Nehemiah, recount what occurred during the twentieth year of Artaxerxes.
2 that (E)Hanani, one of my brothers, and (b)some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.
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.
2 Hanani,(E) one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant(F) that had survived the exile.(G)
2 In the month of Chislev, while I was in Shushan at the palace, Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, about those who had survived the Babylonian captivity, and about Jerusalem.
2 Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the (F)province who survived the captivity are in great distress and (G)reproach, and (H)the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and (I)its gates are burned with fire.”
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.
3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province,(H) who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned down.”(I)
3 They told me, "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are living in great distress and shame. Furthermore, the Jerusalem wall remains broken down and its gates have been burned by fire."
3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its [fortified] gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.”
4 When I heard these words, (J)I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before (K)the God of heaven.
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,
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying(J) before the God of heaven.(K)
4 When I heard this, I sat down and cried, mourning for a number of days while I fasted and prayed in the presence of the God of Heaven.
4 Now it came about when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying [constantly] before the God of heaven.
5 I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, (L)the great and awesome God, (M)who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
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:
5 I said,(L)Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him(M) and keep His commands,(N)
5 I said, "Please, LORD, God of Heaven, the great and fearsome God who keeps the covenant, showing gracious love to those who love you and keep your commands,
5 And I said, “Please, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
6 (N)let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, (O)confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; (P)I and my father’s house have sinned.
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.
6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive(O) to hear Your servant’s prayer that I now pray to You day and night(P) for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins(c) we have committed against You. Both I and my father’s house have sinned.(Q)
6 please turn your attention to observe carefully and listen to the prayer of your servant today that I am presenting to you day and night on behalf of your servants, the Israelis.
6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You, day and night, on behalf of Your servants, the (d)sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob), confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; I and my father’s house have sinned.
7 (Q)We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances (R)which You commanded Your servant Moses.
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.
7 We have acted corruptly toward You and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances You gave Your servant Moses.(R)
7 "I confess the sins that we Israelis have committed against you. Both I and my father's house have sinned. We have abandoned you by not keeping your commands, your ceremonies, and your judgments that you proscribed to your servant Moses.
8 Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘(S)If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples;
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:
8 Please remember what You commanded Your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.(S)
8 Please remember what you spoke in commanding your servant Moses. You said,
9 (T)but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I (U)will gather them from there and will bring them (V)to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’
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.
9 But if you return to Me and carefully observe My commands, even though your exiles were banished to the ends of the earth,(d) I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have My name dwell.”(T)
9 "If you rebel, I will scatter you among the nations but if you return to me, keeping my commands and doing them, even if your exiled people are in the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I have chosen to establish my Name.'
10 (W)They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
10 They are Your servants and Your people. You redeemed them by Your great power and strong hand.(U)
10 These are your servants as well as your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
10 Now they are Your servants and Your people whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.
11 O Lord, I beseech You, (X)may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to (c)revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”Now I was the (Y)cupbearer to the king.
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.
11 Please, Lord, let Your ear be attentive(V) to the prayer of Your servant and to that of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success today,(W) and have compassion on him in the presence of this man.(e)(X)At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.(Y)
11 "And now, Lord, I ask you to listen to the prayer of your servant and to the prayers of your servants who delight in revering your Name. I ask you, please prosper your servant today by granting him to receive favor from this man." Now I was the king's senior security advisor.
11 Please, O Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to [reverently] fear Your Name [Your essence, Your nature, Your attributes, with awe]; and make Your servant successful this day and grant him compassion in the sight of this man [the king].”For I was (g)cupbearer to the king [of Persia].
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