Let thine ears mark and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray now before thee day and night for the children of Israel thy servants, and knowledge the sins of the children of Israel, which we have committed against thee. And I and my father's house have sinned also.

And letters unto Asaph the lord of the king's wood, that he may give me wood for beams to the gates of the palace, which are hard on the house and hard on the walls of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into." And the king gave me according to the good hand of God upon me.

I gat me up in the night season, and a few men with me: for I told no man what God had given me in my heart to do at Jerusalem. And there was not one beast with me, save it that I rode upon.

And I told them of the good hand of my God which was upon me; and the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, "Then let us get up and build," and strengthened their hands to good.

Hear, O thou our God, how we are despised! Turn their shame upon their own head, that thou mayest give them over into despising in the land of their captivity.

Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and set watchmen upon the wall day and night over against them.

and looked, and gat me up, and said unto the chief men and rulers, and to the other people, "Be not ye afraid of them, but think rather upon the great LORD, which ought to be feared; and fight for your brethren, sons, daughters, wives, and houses."

which builded on the wall, and bare burdens from those that laded them. With one hand did they the work, and with the other held they their weapon.

And I said unto the principal men, and rulers, and to the other people, "The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

I laboured also in the work upon the wall, and bought no land. And all my servants came thither together unto the work.

Think upon me my God unto the best, according to all that I have done for this people.

And when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the others of our enemies heard that I had builded the wall, and that there were no more gaps therein - howbeit at the same time had I not hanged the doors upon the gates -

Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, "Come and let us meet together in the villages upon the plain of the city Ono." Nevertheless, they thought to do me evil.

Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand,

For I perceived that God had not sent him; Yet spake he prophecy upon me. Nevertheless, Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him for money.

My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according unto these their works, and of the Prophetess Noadiah and of the other Prophets, that would have put me in fear.

Now when the seventh month drew nigh, and the children of Israel were in their cities, all the people gathered themselves together as one man upon the street before the Watergate, and said unto Ezra the scribe that he should fetch the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD commanded to Israel.

And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and of all that could understand it, upon the first day of the seventh month.

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a high pulpit of wood, which they had made for the preaching, and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Ananiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his righthand: and on his left hand stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchiah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

And the people went up, and fetched them, and made them booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street by the Watergate, and in the street by port Ephraim.

In the four and twentieth day of this month came the children of Israel together with fasting, and sackcloth, and earth upon them,

and showed tokens and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they were presumptuous and cruel against them; and so madest thou thee a name as it is this day.

Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest unto them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, true laws, good commandments and statutes,

Thou art righteous in all that thou hast brought upon us: for thou hast done right.

And we decreed a statute upon ourselves, to give yearly the third part of a sicle to the ministration in the house of our God,

And we cast the lot among the priests, Levites and the people, for offering of the wood to be brought unto the house of our God from year to year, after the houses of our fathers that it might be burnt at times appointed, upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law:

And I caused the princes of Judah to go up upon the wall, and appointed two great choirs of thanksgiving, which went on the righthand of the wall toward the Dung gate,

toward the Wellgate, and they went up over against them upon the steps of the city of David at the going up of the wall to the house of David, unto the Watergate Eastward.

The other choir of thanksgiving went over against them, and I after them, and the half part of the people upon the wall, toward the Furnacegate upward, until the broad wall,

that they stood and waited upon the office of their God, and the office of the purification. And the singers and porters stood after the commandment of David and of Solomon his son:

Think upon me, O my God, herein, and wipe not out my mercy, that I have showed on the house of my God, and on the officers thereof!

At the same time saw I some treading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in clusters, and asses laden with wine, grapes, figs, and bringing all manner of burdens unto Jerusalem, upon the Sabbath day. And I rebuked them earnestly the same day that they sold the victuals.

Did not our fathers even thus, and our God brought all this plague upon us and upon this city? And ye make the wrath more yet upon Israel, in that ye break the Sabbath."

Then reproved I them sore, and said unto them, "Why tarry ye all night about the wall? If ye do it once again, I will lay hands upon you." From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath.

And I said unto the Levites which were clean, that they should come and keep the gates, to hallow the Sabbath day. Think upon me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to thy great mercy!

O my God, think thou upon them that are quit of the priesthood, and have defiled the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites!

and to offer the wood at times appointed, and the firstfruits. Think thou upon me, O my God, for the best!