The story of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, - and it came to pass, in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, when, I, was in Shusan the fortress,

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and I mourned certain days, - and continued fasting and praying, before the God of the heavens;

Let, I pray thee, thine ears be attentive and thine eyes open - to hearken unto the prayer of thy servant - -which, I, am praying before thee now, day and night, for the sons of Israel, thy servants, - -and making confession concerning the sins of the sons of Israel, which we have committed against thee, both I and the house of my father, have sinned.

When ye return unto me and keep my commandments and do them, though it should be that ye have been driven out unto the uttermost part of the heavens, from thence, will I gather them, and bring them into the place that I have chosen to make a habitation for my Name there.

I beseech thee O My Lord, let - I pray thee - thine ear be attentive unto the prayer of thy servant, and unto the prayer of thy servants who delight to revere thy Name, and oh prosper, I pray thee, thy servant to-day, and grant him compassion before this man. Now, I, was cup-bearer unto the king.

And it came to pass, in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that, wine, was before him, - so I took up the wine, and gave unto the king, and I had never been sad before him.

Then the king said to me, Concerning what, is it, thou, wouldst make request? So I prayed unto the God of the heavens,

And the king said unto me, the queen, also sitting beside him, For how long would be thy journey? and when wouldst thou return? So it seemed good before the king to send me, and I set him a time.

also a letter unto Asaph, keeper of the park that belongeth unto the king, that he may give me timber to build up the gates of the fortress which pertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house whereinto I shall enter. And the king gave me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

And, when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite, heard of it, it vexed them, with a great vexation, - that there had come a man, to seek welfare, for the sons of Israel.

Then rose I by night, I, and a few men with me, I having told no man, what, my God, had been putting in my heart, to do for Jerusalem, - and, beast, was there none with me, save the beast on which, I myself, was riding.

Then passed I over unto the fountain-gate, and unto the pool of the king, - but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Now, the deputies, knew not whither I had gone, nor what I was doing, - not even to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the deputies, nor to the rest who were doing the work, had I as yet told it.

But, when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed at us, and poured contempt upon us, - and said, What is this thing which ye would do? against the king, would ye rebel?

Then answered I them, and said to them - The God of the heavens - he, will prosper us, therefore, we his servants, will arise and build, - But, to you, pertaineth no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

and, at their hand, repaired, Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, - who pertained to the throne of the pasha Beyond the River;

Palal, son of Uzai, from over against the corner, and the tower that projecteth from the upper house of the king, which belongeth to the court of custody, - after him, Pedaiah son of Parosh.

But it came to pass, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, it angered him, and he was greatly displeased, - and mocked the Jews;

and spake before his brethren, and the army of Samaria, and said, What are, these feeble Jews, doing? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they bring to life the stones out of the heaps of dust, when, they, have been burned up?

and do not cover their iniquity, and, their sin before thee, let it not be blotted out, - for they have caused vexation before them who are building.

So we built the wall, and all the wall was finished unto the half thereof, - -and the people had a mind to work.

But it came to pass, when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem had gone up, that the breaches began to be stopped, that it angered them exceedingly;

and they conspired, all of them together, to come, to fight against Jerusalem, - and to cause it harm;

howbeit we prayed unto our God, - and set a watch against them, day and night, because of them.

Then said Judah, The strength of the burden-bearer faileth, and, the rubbish, aboundeth, - and, we, are not able to build at the wall;

and our adversaries have said, They shall not know, neither shall they see, until we come into their midst, and slay them, - so shall we cause the work to cease.

But it came to pass, when the Jews dwelling near them came in, then said they unto us, ten times, From all places whither ye shall turn, they will be upon us!

Then I looked and rose up, and said - unto the nobles and unto the deputies and unto the rest of the people, Do not ye fear because of them, - the great and fearful Lord, remember ye, so shall ye fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had overturned their counsel, then returned we, all of us, unto the wall, every man unto his work.

And it came to pass, from that day, the half of my young men, were working in the work, and, the half of them, were grasping the spears, the bucklers, and the bows, and the coats of mail, - but, the rulers, were behind all the house of Judah.

Moreover, at that time, I said to the people, Let, every one with his young man, lodge for the night in the midst of Jerusalem, - so shall they serve us, in the night, as a watch, and, the day, for work.

So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my young men, nor the men of the watch that followed me, none of us, put off our clothes, - every one went with his weapon to the water.

Then came there to be a great outcry of the people and their wives, - against their brethren the Jews.

Now, therefore, as is the flesh of our brethren, so is our flesh, as are their children, so are our children. Yet lo! we are putting in subjection our sons and our daughters, for bondservants, yea there are some of our daughters already trodden down, and we are powerless, and, our fields and our vineyards, belong to others.

So my heart took counsel unto me and I contended with the nobles and with the deputies, and said to them, A loan on interest - every man to his brother, are ye making, - So I appointed over them a great assembly;

and I said unto them, We, have bought our brethren the Jews, who had sold themselves unto the nations, according to our ability, and will, ye, even sell your brethren, or shall they sell themselves unto us? And they were silent, and found no answer.

Then said I, Not good, is the thing which ye are doing, - ought ye not, in the fear of God, to walk, because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

I too, then, my brethren and my young men, might be lending unto them on interest silver and corn! I pray you, let us leave off this lending on interest!

Restore, I pray you, unto them this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, - also the hundredth of silver and corn, new wine and oil, for which ye have been lending to them.

And they said, We will restore them, and, from them, will we require nothing, so, will we do, as thou, art saying. Then called I the priests, and put them on oath, to do according to this promise.

Also, my lap, shook I out, and said - Thus and thus, may God shake out every man who shall not confirm this promise, out of his house and out of his labour, yea, thus and thus, let him be shaken out and empty, - And all the convocation said, Amen! and praised Yahweh, and the people did according to this promise.

Moreover, from the day I was commanded to become their pasha in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year, even unto the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, I and my brethren, pasha's bread, have not eaten;

whereas, the former pashas, who were before me, suffered themselves to be a burden upon the people, and took from them in bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver, even, their young men, bare rule over the people, - but, I, did not so, because of the fear of God.

Now, that which was prepared for a single day, was - one ox, six choice sheep, also, fowls, were prepared for me, and, apportioned unto ten days, of every sort of wine, in abundance, - yet, in spite of this, the bread of the pasha, demanded I not, because heavy was the bondage upon this people.

And it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arabian and to the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and there was left therein no breach, - though, up to that time, the doors, had I not set up in the gates,

that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come! and let us meet together in the villages, in the valley of Ono, - But, they, were plotting to do me harm.

Yet they sent unto me, according to this message, four times, - and I replied to them according to this answer.

Then Sanballat sent unto me, according to this message, a fifth time, by his young man, - with an open letter, in his hand:

wherein was written - Among the nations, it is reported, and, Gashmu, saith it, that, thou and the Jews, are plotting to rebel, for which cause, thou art building the wall, - and, thou, art to become their king, according to these words.

Moreover also, prophets, hast thou set up to make proclamation concerning thee in Jerusalem, saying, He hath become king in Judah! Now, therefore, will it he reported to the king, according to these words. Now, therefore, come, and let us take counsel together.

Then sent I unto him, saying, Nothing hath been done, according to these words, which thou art saying, - but, out of thine own heart, art thou feigning them.

For, they all, were seeking to put us in fear, saying, Their hands will slacken from the work, and it will not be accomplished. Now, therefore, strengthen thou my hands!

When, I, came into the house of Shemaiah, son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, he, being shut in, he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, in the midst of the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to slay thee, yea, by night, are they coming to slay thee.

Then said I, Should, such a man as I, flee? Who then, being such as I, would enter the temple to save his life? I will not enter.

to this end, hired, he was, to the end that I might be afraid and do so, and might sin, - and it might serve them for an evil report, to the end they might bring reproach upon me.

Have remembrance, O my God, of Tobiah and of Sanballat, according to these their doings, - moreover also, of Noadiah the prophetess, and of the rest of the prophets, who would have put me in fear.

So the wall was finished, on the twenty-fifth of Elul, - in fifty-two days.

And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard, and all the nations that were round about us saw, that they fell greatly in their own eyes, and took knowledge that, from God, had this work been wrought.

for, many in Judah, had taken an oath to him, because he was in marriage affinity with Shecaniah son of Arah, - and, Jehohanan his son, had taken the daughter of Meshullam, son of Berechiah.

Moreover, his good deeds, were they telling before me, and, my affairs, were they carrying out to him, - letters, did Tobiah send to put me in fear.

And it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, - and the doorkeepers and the singers and the Levites had been appointed,

So then my God put it into my heart, and I gathered together the nobles and the deputies and the people, to register their genealogy, - then found I a register roll, of them who came up at the first, and found written therein: -

These, are the sons of the province, who came up from among the Captives of the Exile, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did exile, - but they came back to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his own city;

The sons of Parosh, two thousand, one hundred, and seventy-two;

The sons of Shephatiah, three hundred, and seventy-two;

The sons of Arah, six hundred, and fifty-two;

The sons of Pahath-moab, belonging to the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand, eight hundred, and eighteen;

The sons of Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four;

The sons of Azgad, two thousand, three hundred, and twenty-two;

The sons of Bigvai, two thousand, and sixty-seven;

The sons of Ater, pertaining to Hezekiah, ninety-eight;

The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two;

The men of Mickmas, a hundred, and twenty-two;

The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two;

The sons of the other Elam, a thousand, two hundred, and fifty-four;

The sons of Immer, a thousand, and fifty-two;

The sons of Pashhur, a thousand, two hundred, and forty-seven;

All the Nethinim, and the Sons of the Servants of Solomon, were three hundred, and ninety-two.

the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, - six hundred and forty-two,

And, of the priests, the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, - the sons of Barzillai, who had taken of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.

All the gathered host together, was forty-two thousand, three hundred, and sixty;

besides, their men-servants and maid-servants, were these, seven thousand, three hundred, and thirty-seven, - and, to them, pertained, singing-men and singing-women, two hundred, and forty-five:

their horses, were seven hundred, and thirty-six, - their mules, two hundred, and forty-five;

and, some of the ancestral chiefs, gave unto the treasury of the work, of gold, twenty thousand darics, - and, of silver, two thousand and two hundred manehs;

and, that which the rest of the people gave, was, of gold, twenty thousand darics, and, of silver, two thousand manehs, - and, tunics for priests, sixty-seven.

Then all the people gathered themselves together as one man, into the broad way that was before the water-gate, - and they spake unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded Israel.

So then Ezra the priest brought the law, before the convocation of both men and women, and all that had understanding to hearken, - on the first day of the seventh month;

and read therein, before the broad place which was before the water-gate, from the time it was light, until the noon of the day, in presence of the men and the women, and such as had understanding, - and, the ears of all the people, were unto the book of the law.

And Ezra blessed Yahweh the great God, - and all the people responded, Amen! Amen! with the lifting up of their hands, - and they bent their heads and bowed themselves down unto Yahweh, with their faces to the ground.

And, Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, did cause the people to understand the law, the people, remaining in their places.

So they read in the book of the law of God, distinctly, - and, giving the sense, caused them to understand the reading.

Then Nehemiah - he, was the governor - and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who were causing the people to understand, said unto all the people, To-day, is, holy, unto Yahweh your God, do not mourn, nor weep, - for, weeping, were all the people, when they heard the words of the law.

So he said unto them - Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared, for holy is the day, unto our Lord, - and be not grieved, for, the joy of Yahweh, is your strength.

And, the Levites, were quieting all the people, saying - Hush! for, the day, is holy, - and be not grieved.

And all the people went their way, to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing, - because they had understood the words which were made known unto them.

And, on the second day, were gathered together - the ancestral heads of all the people, the priests and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, - even to give attention unto the words of the law.

and that they should publish and send along a proclamation throughout all their cities and throughout Jerusalem, saying, Forth to the mountain, and bring in branches of olive, and branches of oleaster, and branches of myrtle, and branches of palms, and branches of thick trees, - to make booths, as it is written.

And all the convocation of them who had returned out of the captivity made booths, and dwelt in booths, for, since the days of Jeshua son of Nun, had not the sons of Israel done so, unto that day, - and there was very great rejoicing.

So he read in the book of the law of God, day by day, from the first day unto the last day, and they kept the festival seven days, and, on the eighth day, a closing feast, according to the regulation.

Now, on the twenty-fourth day of this month, were the sons of Israel gathered together, with fasting and with sackcloth, having earth upon them.