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 the king said to me, Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid.

And I said to the king, Let the king live forever. Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?

And the king said to me, For what do you ask? So I prayed to the God of Heaven,

and I said to the king, If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I pray that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, so that I may build it.

And the king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall your journey be? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time.

And I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors Beyond the River, so that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,

And I said to them, You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem is wasted, and the gates of it are burned with fire. Come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no more be a reproach.

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

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us. And they said, What is this that you do? Will you rebel against the king?

And I answered them and said to them, The God of Heaven, He will bless us, and we, His servants, will arise and build. But you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.

And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a day? Will they bring to life the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

And Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox goes up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

And Judah said, The strength of the carriers of burdens is weakening, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall.

And our foes have said, They shall not know, or see, until we come in the middle of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.

And it happened when the Jews who lived near them came in, they said to us ten times, From all places where you shall turn to us, they will be against us.

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.

For certain ones said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain for them, so that we may eat and live.

Some also said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses. Let us buy grain because of the famine.

And some said, We have borrowed money on our lands and vineyards for the king's tax.

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 said to them, According to our ability we have redeemed our brothers, the Jews who were sold to the nations. And will you even sell your brothers? Or shall they be sold to us? And they were silent and did not find an answer.

And I said, What you do is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?

And they said, We will restore, and will ask nothing from them. So we will do as you say. Then I called the priests and took an oath from them that they should do according to this promise.

Also I shook my lap and said, So let God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, who does not keep this promise, even may he be shaken out this way and emptied. And all the congregation said, amen, and praised Jehovah. And the people did according to this promise.

And I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up. And he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple. For they will come to kill you. Yea, in the night they will come to kill you.

And I said, Should such a man as I flee? And who, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

And, behold, I understood that God had not sent him, but that he said this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

And I said to them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they stand by, let them shut and bar the doors. And set guards from the people of Jerusalem, each one in his watch, and each one to be across from his house.

And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.

And Nehemiah, the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to Jehovah your God. Do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.

Then he said to them, Go eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our LORD. And do not be sorry, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.

And the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless Jehovah your God forever and ever. And blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

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,

And I contended with the rulers and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together and set them in their place.

And I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, What evil thing is this that you do, and defile the Sabbath day?

And I testified against them, and said to them, Why do you stay around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.