The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year [of the Persian king], as I was in the capitol of Susa,

There were also others who were saying, “We have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards for the [Persian] king’s [heavy] tax.

Also [it is reported that] you have appointed prophets to make a proclamation concerning you in Jerusalem, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah!’ And now these things will be reported to the [Persian] king. So come now, and let us consult together.”

For there was a command from the [Persian] king regarding the singers, as to their daily task.

The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian.

But during all this time I was not at Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes [Persian] king of Babylon I went to the king. Then after some time I asked for a leave [of absence] from the king,