Let, I pray thee, thine ears be attentive and thine eyes open - to hearken unto the prayer of thy servant - -which, I, am praying before thee now, day and night, for the sons of Israel, thy servants, - -and making confession concerning the sins of the sons of Israel, which we have committed against thee, both I and the house of my father, have sinned.

We have dealt, very corruptly, against thee, - and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes nor the regulations, which thou didst command Moses thy servant.

Remember, I pray thee, the word, which thou didst command Moses thy servant, saying, - If, ye, are unfaithful, I, will scatter you among the peoples:

also a letter unto Asaph, keeper of the park that belongeth unto the king, that he may give me timber to build up the gates of the fortress which pertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house whereinto I shall enter. And the king gave me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Then rose I by night, I, and a few men with me, I having told no man, what, my God, had been putting in my heart, to do for Jerusalem, - and, beast, was there none with me, save the beast on which, I myself, was riding.

Then told I them, of the hand of my God, that, it, had been good upon me, as also of the words of the king, which he had spoken unto me, - so they said, We will arise and build! and they strengthened their hands right well.

But, when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed at us, and poured contempt upon us, - and said, What is this thing which ye would do? against the king, would ye rebel?

after him, repaired, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of the half-circuit of Beth-zur, - as far as over against the sepulchres of David, even unto the pool which had been made, and unto the house of heroes;

Palal, son of Uzai, from over against the corner, and the tower that projecteth from the upper house of the king, which belongeth to the court of custody, - after him, Pedaiah son of Parosh.

Now, Tobiah the Ammonite, was beside him, - so he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox should go up, he would break down their stone wall!

Then said I, Not good, is the thing which ye are doing, - ought ye not, in the fear of God, to walk, because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

Restore, I pray you, unto them this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, - also the hundredth of silver and corn, new wine and oil, for which ye have been lending to them.

And, Jews and deputies, a hundred and fifty men, and they who were coming in unto us from among the nations which were round about us, depended upon my table.

Now, that which was prepared for a single day, was - one ox, six choice sheep, also, fowls, were prepared for me, and, apportioned unto ten days, of every sort of wine, in abundance, - yet, in spite of this, the bread of the pasha, demanded I not, because heavy was the bondage upon this people.

wherein was written - Among the nations, it is reported, and, Gashmu, saith it, that, thou and the Jews, are plotting to rebel, for which cause, thou art building the wall, - and, thou, art to become their king, according to these words.

Then sent I unto him, saying, Nothing hath been done, according to these words, which thou art saying, - but, out of thine own heart, art thou feigning them.

Moreover, in those days, were the nobles of Judah busy with their letters which were going unto Tobiah, - and those of Tobiah were coming unto them;

and, that which the rest of the people gave, was, of gold, twenty thousand darics, and, of silver, two thousand manehs, - and, tunics for priests, sixty-seven.

Then all the people gathered themselves together as one man, into the broad way that was before the water-gate, - and they spake unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded Israel.

and read therein, before the broad place which was before the water-gate, from the time it was light, until the noon of the day, in presence of the men and the women, and such as had understanding, - and, the ears of all the people, were unto the book of the law.

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a lofty platform of wood, which they had made for the purpose, and there stood, beside him, Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah, on his right hand, - and, on his left, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam.

And all the people went their way, to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing, - because they had understood the words which were made known unto them.

Then said the Levites - Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, Pethahiah, Stand up, bless Yahweh your God, from age to age, - Yea let them bless thy glorious Name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

And, bread out of the heavens, didst thou give them, for their hunger, and, waters out of the cliff, didst thou bring them, for their thirst, - and badest them go in to take possession of the land, which thou hadst lifted thy hand to give them.

but refused to hearken, neither kept in mind thy wonders which thou hadst done with them, but they hardened their neck, and appointed a head that they might return to their servitude, in their perverseness. But, thou, art a God of forgivenesses, gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness, and didst not forsake them.

Their children also, didst thou multiply, like the stars of the heavens, - and didst bring them into the land which thou hadst promised their fathers they should enter to possess;

and didst testify against them, to bring them back unto thy law, yet, they, dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, and, against thy regulations, they sinned, the which - if any son of earth shall do - then shall he live by them, - and yielded a rebellious shoulder, and, their neck, they stiffened, and hearkened not.

Now, therefore, O our God - the GOD great, mighty, and fearful - keeping the covenant and the lovingkindness, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, which hath come upon us - on our kings, on our rulers, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, - from the days of the kings of Assyria, until this day.

But, they, in their kingdom, and in thine abundant goodness which thou gavest them, and in the broad and fat land which thou didst set before them, did not serve thee, neither turned they from their wicked doings.

Lo! we, to-day, are bondmen - even upon the land which thou gavest our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, lo! we, are bondmen;

were holding fast unto their distinguished brethren, and were entering into a curse and into an oath, to walk in the law of God, which was given through Moses the servant of God, - and to observe and do, all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord, and his regulations, and his statutes;

and came to Jerusalem, - and had intelligence of the wickedness which Eliashib had committed for Tobiah, in preparing for him a chamber, in the courts of the house of God;

Remember me, O my God, concerning this, - and do not wipe out my lovingkindnesses, which I have done for the house of my God, and for those keeping charge thereof.

In those days, saw I in Judah - some treading winepresses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves and lading asses, moreover also wine, grapes, and figs, and every kind of burden, which they were bringing into Jerusalem on the sabbath day, - so I protested against it, as a day for them to sell provisions.

so I contended with the nobles of Judah, - and said unto them, What is this wicked thing which, ye, are doing, and profaning the sabbath day?