Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

And a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

They who built on the wall, and they that bore burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.

Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

And madest known to them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried to thee, thou hearedest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them deliverers, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore thou leftest them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned and cried to thee, thou hearedest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

Yet many years didst thou forbear over them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore thou gavest them into the hand of the people of the lands.

And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people.

Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, of which one went on the right hand upon the wall towards the dung-gate: