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;

And Hanani one of my brethren will come, he and men from Judah; and I shall ask them concerning the Jews of the escaping which were left from the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

And they will say to me, They being left which were left of the captivity there in the province, in great evil and in reproach: and the walls of Jerusalem being broken down, and its gates were burnt with fire.

And it will be in my hearing these words, I sat down, and I shall weep and mourn days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of the heavens,

Will now thine ear be attentive and thine eye opened to hear to the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee this day, day and night, for the sons of Israel thy servants, and confess for the sins of the sons of Israel which we sinned against thee? and and the house of my father sinned.

Remember, I beseech you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

But if you turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though some of you were cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

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 the king will say to me, Wherefore thy face sad, and thou not being, sick? This nothing but sadness of heart. And I shall be very greatly afraid.

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 king will say to me, For what this thou seekest? And I shall pray to the God of the heavens.

And saying to the king, If good to the king, and if thy servant shall be good before thee, that thou wilt send me to Judah to the city of my fathers' sepulchres, and I will build it,

And the king said unto 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.

I also said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.

And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress, the city wall, and the home where I will live.” The king granted my requests, for I was graciously strengthened by my God.

And I shall come to the prefects beyond the river, and I shall give to them the letter of the king. And the king will send with me chiefs of strength and horsemen.

And Sanballat the Horonite will hear, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and it will be evil to them a great evil that a man came to seek good for the sons of Israel.

So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned down. Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”

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 despised us, and said, What is this thing that you do? will you rebel against the king?

Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

And Eliashib the great priest will rise up and his brethren the priests, and they will build the sheep gate; they consecrated it, and they will set up its doors, and even to the tower of Meah they consecrated, and even to the tower of Hananeel.

And the gate of fishes the sons of Hassenaah built; they framed and they will set up its doors, its bolts and its bars.

Upon his hand held fast Uzziel son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths. And upon his hand held fast Hananiah son of the perfumers; and they will leave Jerusalem even to the broad wall.

And the gate of the valley held fast Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and they will set up its doors its bolts and its bars, and a thousand cubits in the wall even to the gate of the dung-hill.

And the gate of the dung-hill held fast Malchiah the son of Rechab, chief of the circuit of the house of the vineyard; he will build it, and set up its doors, its bolts and its bars.

And the gate of the fountain Shallum son of Colhozeh, ruler of the circuit of Mizpeh, held fast; he will build it and cover it, and set, it up, its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and the walls of the pool of Shiloh by the king's garden, and even to the steps going down from the city of David.

And it will be that when Sanballat heard that we are building the wall, and it will kindle to him, and he will be greatly angry, and he will mock against the Jews.

And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they finish in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

And Tobiah the Ammonite near him, and he will say, Also that they are building, if a fox shall go up, and he brake their walls of stones.

Hear, O our God; for we were despised: and turn back their reproach upon their head, and wilt thou give them for plunder in the land of captivity?

And thou wilt not cover over their iniquity, and their sin shall not be wiped away before thee: for they provoked before the builders.

So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.

And it will be that when Sanballat heard, and Tobiah, and the Arabians and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, that healing ascended to the walls of Jerusalem, that the breaches began to be stopped, and it kindled to them greatly;

And they will conspire all of them together to come to war against Jerusalem, and to do damage to it

And we will pray to our God, and we shall set up a watch against them day and night, from before them.

In Judah, it was said:

The strength of the laborer fails,
since there is so much rubble.
We will never be able
to rebuild the wall.

Then our enemies said, "They will not know nor see until we come upon them and will kill them and stop the work."

And it came to pass, that when the Jews who dwelt near them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places where you shall return unto us they will be upon you.

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.

And it will be from that day the half of my young men doing in the work, and half of them holding fast and the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the chiefs behind every house of Judah.

Wherever you hear the trumpet sound, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”

and we will be laboring in the work." And the half part of them held the spears from the morning spring, till the stars came forth.

At the time I also said to the people, "Let each man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they will be a guard for us in the night and work in the day."

And a cry of the people and their wives will be great against their brethren the Jews.

And there is which saying, Our sons and our daughters, we being many: and we will take grain and we will eat and live.

And there are those saying, Our fields and our vineyards and our houses we pledge, and we will take grain in the famine.

And it will kindle to me greatly as I heard their cry and these words.

and I advised so in my mind, that I rebuked the councilors and the rulers, and said unto them, "Will ye require usury one of another?" And I brought a great congregation against them,

And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, who were sold unto the nations; and will you even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.

And it will be said, Not good the word which ye do: will ye not go in the fear of our God from the reproach of the nations our enemies?

And also I, my brethren and my young men exacting upon them silver and grain: we will leave off now this debt

Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as you say. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.

I also shook out my garment and said, "This is how God will shake out everyone from his house who will not keep this promise. So this is how his possessions will be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" And they praised Yahweh, and the people kept this promise.

And the former prefects that were before me made heavy upon the people, and they will take from them in bread and wine, the last silver forty shekels; also their young men ruled over the people: and I did not thus from the face of the fear of God.

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;

And Sanballat sent to me and Geshem, saying, Come, and we will pass over together in the villages in the valley of Ono. And they reckoned to do evil to me

And they will send to me according to this word four times; and I shall turn them back according to this word.

And Sanballat will send his young man to me according to this word the fifth time, and a letter opened in his hand;

in which was written: It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel, for which cause thou buildest the wall, and according to these words thou wilt become their king.

And thou hast also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning thee at Jerusalem saying, There is a king in Judah! And now it will be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.

For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it will not be done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

Afterward I came unto 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, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.

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

And the wall will be completed in the twenty and fifth to Elul, to fifty and two days.

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.

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.

And it will be said to them, The gates of Jerusalem shall not be opened till the sun being hot; and till they standing by shall shut the doors and fasten: and setting up watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a man in his watch, and a man before his house.

And my God will give to my heart, and I shall gather together the nobles and the prefects and the people, to be enrolled: and I shall find the writing of the register of those coming up among the first, and I shall find written as it

These the sons of the province coming up from the captivity of the: exile which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel carried into exile; and they will turn back to Jerusalem and to Judah, a man to his city;

And from the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite a wife, and he will be called for their name.

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

And the Tirshatha will say to them that they shall not eat from the holy of holies till a priest stood up for Lights and Truth.

And there dwelt the priests and the Levites and the gatekeepers, and those singing, and from the people and the Nethinims, and all Israel in their cities; and the seventh month will draw near, and the sons of Israel in their cities.

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 the priest will bring the law before the convocation, from man and even to woman, and all understanding to hear in one day to the seventh month.

And he will read in it before the broad place which is before the gate of the waters, from the light even to the half of the day, before the men and the women, and those understanding; and the ears of all the people will be to the book of the law.

And Ezra the scribe will stand upon a tower of wood which they made for the word; and near him will stand Mattathiah and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, upon his right hand; and his left, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, Meshullam.

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 Ezra will praise Jehovah the great God: and all the people will answer, Amen, Amen, in lifting up their hands: and they will bow down and worship to Jehovah, with faces to the earth.

And they will read in the book in the law of God accurately, and he set up the understanding, and they will cause to understand the reading.

And Nehemiah, (he the Tirshatha) will say, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites causing the people to understand, To all the people this day is holy to Jehovah your God; ye shall not mourn, and ye shall not weep. For all the people weeping in their hearing to the words of the law.

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.

And all the people will go to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great gladness, for they understood the words that were made known to them.

And they will find written in the law which Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses, that the sons of Israel dwelt in booths in the festival in the seventh month.

and that they should publish and proclaim through all their cities, and at Jerusalem, saying, Go forth to the mount, and fetch olive-branches, and wild olive-branches, and myrtle-branches, and palm-branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

And the people will go forth, and will bring and make for themselves booths, each upon his roof, and in their enclosures, and in the enclosures of the house of God, and in the broad place of the gate of the waters and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

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.

And he will read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day even to the last day. And they will do a festival seven days; and in the eighth day a restraint according to judgment

And the seed of Israel will be separated from all the sons of the stranger, and they will stand and confess over their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

And they will rise up upon their standing and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God, the fourth of the day; and a fourth confessing and worshiping to Jehovah their God.

And there will rise up upon the ascent of the Levites, Joshua and the sons of Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bani, Sherebiah, Bani, Chenani; and they will cry with a great voice to Jehovah their God.

And the Levites, Joshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, Pethahiah, will say, Rise up, praise Jehovah your God from forever even to forever: and they shall praise the name of thy glory, exalting over all blessing and praise.

And thou didst find his heart faithful before thee, and thou didst cut out a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perezzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give to his seed: and thou wilt set up thy words, for thou art just:

And thou wilt see the humbling of our fathers in Egypt, and thou heardest their cry upon the sea of sedge:

And thou wilt give signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants, and upon all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they acted proudly against them. And thou wilt make to thee a name as this day.

And thou didst cleave asunder the sea before them, and they will pass over in the midst of the sea upon dry land; and those pursuing them thou didst cast into the depths as a stone into the strong waters.

And upon mount Sinai thou camest down, and speaking with them from the heavens, and thou wilt give to them right judgments, and laws of truth, good laws and commands

And bread from the heavens thou gavest to them for their hunger, and water from the rock thou broughtest forth to them for their thirst; and thou wilt say to them to go in and to inherit the land which thou didst lift up thy hand to give to them.