The words of Nehemiah son of Hachaliah. And it will be in the month Chisleu, the twentieth year, and I was in Shushan the fortress;

Now, O Lord, now will thine ear be attending to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, desiring to fear thy name? and prosper now to thy servant this day: and wilt thou give him for compassion before this man? And I was giving drink to the king.

And it will be in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year to Arthasatha the king, wine before him: and I shall lift up the wine and give to the king. And I was not sad before him.

And saying to the king, O king, thou wilt live forever: wherefore shall not my face be sad when the city of the house of my father's sepulchres was laid waste, and its gates consumed with fire?

And the prefects knew not whither I went and what I was doing: and to the Jews and to the priests and to the nobles and to the prefects, and to the rest doing the work, even thus I announced not

And I shall announce to them the hand of my God that it was good upon me; and also the king's words who said to me. And they will say, We will rise up and build. And they will strengthen their hands for good.

Palal son of Uzai from before the corner, and from the tower coming forth from the king's house, the highest which was to the enclosure of the prison. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh.

And Judah will say, The strength of the bearer was weak, and the dust much; and we shall not be able to build upon the wall.

And it will be that when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God will disperse their counsel, and we shall turn back all of us to the wall, each to his work.

Also from the day which it was commanded me to be their prefect in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year and even to the thirty and second year to Arthasatha the king, twelve years I and my brethren ate not the bread of the prefect

And what was done for one day, one ox, six choice sheep; and birds were done for me, and within ten days with every wine for abundance: and with this, the bread of the prefect I sought not for the servitude was heavy upon this people

And it will be as it was heard by Sanballat and Tobiah, and by Geshem the Arabian, and by the rest of our enemies, that I built the wall and a breach was not left in it; also even to this time I set not up the doors in the gates;

Being written in it, It was heard in the nations, and Geshem said, Thou and the Jews are reckoning to rebel: for this thou buildest the wall, and thou to be to them for king according to these words.

And I shall send to him saying, It was not according to these words which thou sayest, for from thy heart thou feignest them.

And I came to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabeel, and he was shut up; and he will say, We will pass over to the house of God into the midst of the temple, and we will shut the doors of the temple: for they are coming to kill thee; and by night coming to kill thee.

So that he was hired that I shall be afraid and do thus, and sin, and it was to them for an evil name, so that they shall reproach me.

And it will be as all our enemies heard, and all the nations that were round about us saw, and they will fall greatly in their own eyes: and they knew that from God was done this work.

For many in Judah being married by oath to him for he was son-in-law to Shechaniah son of Arah; and Johanan his son took the daughter of Meshullam, son of Berechiah.

And it will be as the wall was built, and I shall set up the doors, and the gate-keepers, and those singing, and the Levites will be appointed.

These sought their writing of those being enrolled, and it was not found: and they will be defiled from the priesthood.

And what the rest of the people gave was gold, two myriads of drachmas, and silver, two thousand portions, and priests' tunics, sixty and seven.

And all the people will gather together as one man to the broad place that was before the gate of the waters; and they will say to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which Jehovah commanded Israel.

And Ezra will open the book before the eyes of all the people; for he was above all the people; and when he opened it all the people stood:

And he will say to them, Go ye; eat fatnesses, and drink sweetnesses, and send portions to him for whom nothing was prepared: for the day is holy to our Lord: and ye shall not grieve, for the joy of Jehovah this is your strength.

Holding upon their brethren, their mighty ones, and coming into a curse, and into an oath, to go in the law of God which was given by the hand of Moses the servant of God, and to watch and to do all the command of Jehovah our Lord, and his judgments and his ordinances;

And he reviewing the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micha. From the sons of Asaph, those singing before the work of the house of God

In that day was read in the book of Moses in the ears of the people; and it was found written in it that there shall not come in an Ammonite and a Moabite to the convocation of God, even to forever;

And in all this I was not in Jerusalem: for in the thirty and second year to Arthasatha king of Babel, I came to the king, and at the end of days I asked for myself from the king:

And I shall contend with the prefects, and say, Wherefore was the house of God forsaken? And I shall gather them together, and cause them to stand upon their standing.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin concerning these? and in many nations was there not a king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God will give him king over all Israel: also him did women strangers cause to sin.

And from the sons of Joiada, son of Eliashib the great priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: and I shall cause him to flee from me.