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 now the word that thou didst command Moses thy servant, saying, Ye will transgress; I will scatter you among the nations:

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.

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 will say to me (the consort will sit near him) How long shall be thy journey? and when wilt thou turn back? And it will be good before the king, and he will send me; and I shall give to him a time.

And a letter to Asaph watching the pleasure-grounds to the king, who shall give to me woods to frame the gates of the fortress that is to the house, and for the walls of the city, and for the house which I shall come into it And the king will give to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

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.

And saying to them, Ye seeing the evil which we are in it, how Jerusalem lay waste, and her gates were burnt with fire: come ye, and we will build the walls of Jerusalem, and we shall be no more a reproach.

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.

And Sanballat the Horonite will hear, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, and they will mock to us and despise us, and say, What this word that ye do? are ye bearing rule against the king?

And I shall turn back word to them, and say to them, The God of the heavens, he will prosper for us; and we his servants will rise up and build: and to you no portion and right and remembrance 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 will say before his brethren and the strength of Shomeron, and he will say, What are the feeble Jews doing? will they leave to themselves? will they sacrifice? will they finish in a day? will they give life to the stones of the heaps of dust, and they being burnt?

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.

And we shall build the wall; and all the wall will be completed even to its half: and a heart will be to the people to work.

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.

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 our adversaries will say, They shall not know, and they shall not see, till that we shall come to their midst and kill them, and cause the work to cease.

And it will be that when the Jews dwelling near them came, and they will say to us ten times, From all places which ye shall turn back to us.

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.

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 my heart will take counsel to me, and I shall contend with the nobles and the prefects, and say to them, Ye impose a debt each upon his brother. And I shall give a great convocation against them.

And saying to them, We bought off our brethren the Jews, being sold to the nations; according to the sufficiency in us and also will ye sell your brethren? and were they sold to us? And they will be silent, and they found not a word.

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

And they will say, We will turn back, and we will not seek from them; thus will we do as thou sayest And I shall call the priests and shall cause them to swear to do according to this word.

Also I shook out my arm, and said, Thus God will shake out every man who will not raise up this word from his house and from his labor; so shall he be shaken out and emptied. And all the convocation will say, Amen, and praise Jehovah. And the people did according to this word.

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;

And also thou didst set up prophets to call upon thee in Jerusalem, saying, A king in Judah: and now it will be heard by the king according to these words: and now come and we will counsel together.

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.

And saying, Shall a man like me flee? and who as I that shall go into the temple and live? 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 will cause to hear and will cause a voice to pass over in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go ye forth to the mountain and bring leaves of olive, and leaves of the tree of oil, and leaves of myrtle, and leaves of palms, and leaves of the tree interwoven, to make booths according to the writing.

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.

And they and our fathers acted proudly, and they will harden their neck, and will not hear to thy commands,

And they will refuse to hear, and they will not remember thy wonders which thou didst with them; and they will harden their necks, and they will give a head to turn back to their servitude in their perverseness: and thou a God of forgivenesses, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and great of mercy, and thou didst not forsake them.

Also when they made to them a molten calf, and they will say, This thy God which brought thee up from Egypt; and they will make great reproaches;

And thou wilt give to them kingdoms and nations, and thou wilt divide them to the extremity: and they will inherit the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan.

And their sons thou didst multiply as the stars of the heavens, and thou wilt bring them to the land which thou saidst to their fathers to come in to possess

and their sons will come in and possess the land, and thou wilt subdue before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanitas, and thou wilt give them into their hand, and all their kings, and the nations of the land, to do them according to their will.