And they said to me, The remnant left of the captivity there in the province is in great affliction and shame. And the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.

And I said, I pray You, O Jehovah, the God of Heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and mercy for those who love Him and keep His commandments;

And these are Your servants and Your people whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.

Palal the son of Uzai repaired across from the corner, and the tower which lies out from the king's high house, by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh repaired.

After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, opposite the great tower that sticks out, even to the wall of Ophel.

And I looked and rose up, and said to the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, Do not be afraid of them. Remember Jehovah, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, far from one another.

Also at the same time I said to the people, Let everyone with his servant stay inside Jerusalem, so that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor in the day.

And none, I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us put off our clothes except that everyone had his vessel of water.

And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews.

And my heart within myself ruled, and I rebuked the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, You exact interest, each one from his brother. And I held a great gathering against them.

And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you?

And the city was large and great, but the people in it were few, and the houses not built.

And Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, amen, lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.

And all the people went to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words which were declared to them.

And all the congregation of those who had come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths. For since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day, the sons of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.

And they refused to obey, neither were they mindful of Your wonders which You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and did not forsake them.

Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt, and had worked great blasphemies,

yet You in Your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light and the way in which they should go.

And they took strong cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards and olive-yards, and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

But they were disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your Law behind their backs. And they killed Your prophets who testified against them to turn them to You, and they worked great blasphemies.

But for Your great mercies, You did not completely destroy them nor forsake them. For You are a gracious and merciful God.

And now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the fearful God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble that has come upon us, on our kings, on our rulers, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all Your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day, seem little before You.

For they have not served You in their kingdom, and in Your great goodness which You gave them, and in the large and rich land which You gave before them, and they did not turn from their wicked works.

And it yields much increase to the kings whom You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

and their brothers, mighty men of power, were a hundred and twenty-eight. And their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of one of the great men.

Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub, were guarding the gates, the guard at the thresholds of the gates.

Then I brought up the rulers of Judah on the wall, and chose two great choirs of praise. One went to the right upon the wall toward the Dung Gate.

And that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced. For God had made them rejoice with great joy. And the wives and the sons rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.

Shall we then listen to you, to do all this great evil, to sin against our God in living with foreign women?