And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any animal with me, except the animal that I rode upon.

The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had been doing, for up to this point I had not told any of the Jews or the priests or the nobles or the officials or the rest of the workers.

and I say unto them, 'Ye are seeing the evil that we are in, in that Jerusalem is 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.'

In reply to them, I said, "The God of Heaven will prosper us. That's why we're preparing to build. But as far as you're concerned, there exists no ancestral heritage, no legal right, nor any historic claim in Jerusalem.

Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered there unto the work.

But I said, "Should any such man as I flee? Who is that, being as I am, that will go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in."

The governor instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.

and didst testify against them, to bring them back unto thy law, yet, they, dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, and, against thy regulations, they sinned, the which - if any son of earth shall do - then shall he live by them, - and yielded a rebellious shoulder, and, their neck, they stiffened, and hearkened not.

And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.

So when it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and said that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I appointed some of my young men over the gates [to prevent] any {goods} being brought in on the day of the Sabbath.

So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying, "You will not marry off your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!