and Hanani, one of my brethren, came with certain men of Judah, and I asked them how the Jews did that were delivered and escaped from the captivity, and how it went at Jerusalem.

please turn your attention to observe carefully and listen to the prayer of your servant today that I am presenting to you day and night on behalf of your servants, the Israelis.

And did ye turn back to me and watch my commands and do them; if there shall be a thrusting forth of you into the extremity of the heavens, from thence will I gather them and bring them to the place which I chose for my name to dwell there.

Please, Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to that of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success today, and have compassion on him in the presence of this man.

At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.

I got up during the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anybody what my God put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. No animal [was] with me except the animal that I was riding on.

And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

Men from Jericho did repairs next to him, and Imri's son Zaccur did repairs next to them.

But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

Next to him the men of Tekoa made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their overseers.

And, the old gate, did Joiada son of Paseah, and Meshullam, son of Besodeiah, repair, - they, laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof;

Next to him, Hur's son Rephaiah, ruling official for half of the Jerusalem district, did repairs.

Then next to them, Harumaph's son Jedaiah did repairs opposite his house, and next to him Hashabneiah's son Hattush carried on repairs.

a second length, did Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab, repair, - also the tower of the ovens;

and next to him Hallohesh's son Shallum, ruling official for the other half of the Jerusalem district, did repairs, as did his daughters.

The valley-gate, did Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah, repair, - they, built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, - also a thousand cubits in the wall, as far as the dung-gate.

And, the dung-gate, did Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the circuit of Beth-haccherem, repair, - he, built it, and set up the doors thereof, he locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

And, the fountain-gate, did Shallun son of Col-hozeh ruler of the circuit of Mizpah, repair, he, built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, - also the wall of the pool of Shelah, by the garden of the king, even as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David;

Next to him the descendants of Levi, led by Bani's son Rehum, carried on repairs. Next to him Hashabiah, ruling official for half of the Keilah district, did repairs for his district.

Then next to them, Immer's son Zadok did repairs as far as his own house. Next to him, Shecaniah's son Shemaiah, custodian of the East Gate, carried on repairs.

From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah,

Those who were building the wall and those who were moving material did their part, everyone working with one hand, with his spear in the other;

We did not change clothes -- not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water.

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.

So today please restore to them their fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and homes, along with the one percent interest charge that you've assessed them on the grain, wine, and oil."

Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.

Moreover, from the appointed day I was made their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes--twelve years. My brothers and I did not eat the food [allowance] of the governor.

But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.

I also devoted myself to the work of this wall, and we did not buy land. All of my servants were gathered for the work.

Now the following were prepared for each day: one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls (poultry) were prepared for me; and in intervals of ten days all sorts of wine was provided in abundance. Yet for all this, I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people.

Remember to me, my God, for good, all that I did for this people

Keep in mind, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat and what they did, and Noadiah, the woman prophet, and the rest of the prophets whose purpose was to put fear into me.

Moreover, his good deeds, were they telling before me, and, my affairs, were they carrying out to him, - letters, did Tobiah send to put me in fear.

I appointed my brother Hanani and fortress commander Hananiah to be over Jerusalem, since he was a faithful person who revered God more than many others did.

These, are the sons of the province, who came up from among the Captives of the Exile, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did exile, - but they came back to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his own city;

And, Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, did cause the people to understand the law, the people, remaining in their places.

Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.”

And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”

and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message in all their cities and in Jerusalem: "Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees, myrtle trees, date palms, and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters, as it is written."

And all the convocation of those turning back from the captivity will make booths, and they will dwell in booths; for from the days of Joshua son of Nun, the sons of Israel did not thus even to this day. And there will be great gladness exceedingly.

You are the LORD, the God who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

And did see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red sea;

“Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants and all the people of his land;
For You knew that they behaved arrogantly toward them (the Israelites),
And You made a name for Yourself, as it is to this day.

And you did divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors you threw into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters.

“But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly;
They stiffened their necks and would not heed Your commandments.

“They refused to listen and obey,
And did not remember Your wondrous acts which You had performed among them;
So they stiffened their necks and [in their rebellion] appointed a leader in order to return them to slavery in Egypt.
But You are a God of forgiveness,
Gracious and merciful and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not abandon them.

And though they made a molten calf, and said 'This is thy God, that brought thee out of the land of Egypt,' and did great blasphemies,

But you in your many mercies did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud [that was] over them in the day did not cease to leave them on the way, and the column of fire by night [that] gave light to them on the way that they went.

And you gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.

“Indeed, for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing,
Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.

Moreover you gave them kingdoms and nations, and did distribute them even into the corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

"But they rebelled and were rebellious against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them to turn back to you, and they did great blasphemies.

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

And You admonished them and warned them to turn them back to Your law.
Yet they acted presumptuously and arrogantly and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your ordinances,
Which by keeping, a man will live.
But they turned a stubborn shoulder, stiffened their neck, and would not listen.

You were patient toward them for many years, and you have warned them by your spirit through the hand of your prophets, but they did not listen. So you gave them into the hand of the nations of the lands.

“Yet in Your great compassion You did not utterly destroy them or abandon them,
For You are a gracious and merciful God.

So now, our God—the great, mighty,
and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant—
do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,
our kings and leaders,
our priests and prophets,
our ancestors and all Your people,
from the days of the Assyrian kings until today.

Our kings, our officials, our priests, and our ancestors did not keep your law and did not listen to your commandments and statutes that you declared to them.

“But they, in their kingdom,
With Your great goodness which You gave them,
With the broad and rich land which You set before them,
Did not serve You or turn from their wicked deeds.

Here we are today,
slaves in the land You gave our ancestors
so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.
Here we are—slaves in it!

Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have given over us because of our sins, and [they are] ruling over our dead bodies and our livestock at their pleasure. We are in great trouble.

Also, lots, did we cast, concerning the offering of wood among the priests, the Levites, and the people, to bring it unto the house of our God, by our ancestral houses, at times arranged, year by year, - to burn upon the altar of Yahweh our God, as it is written in the law.

And their brethren that did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two: and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah,

The two thanksgiving processions stood in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials accompanying me,

And they kept the charge of their God, and the charge of the purification, and'so did the singers and the porters, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son.

And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave what was needed by the music-makers and the door-keepers day by day: and they made the offerings holy for the Levites; and the Levites did the same for the sons of Aaron.

because they did not come to meet the {Israelites} with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them in order to curse them--but our God changed the curse into a blessing.

And during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty and second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon did I come unto the king, and at the end of days I have asked of the king,

And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field.

Remember to me, O my God, concerning this, and thou wilt not wipe out my kindness which I did in the house of my God, and in its watches.

Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.

But I warned them and said to them, "Why are you spending the night opposite the wall? If you do [it again], I will lay hands against you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.