And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and I mourned certain days, - and continued fasting and praying, before the God of the heavens;

and said, I beseech thee, O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and fearful GOD, - keeping the covenant and lovingkindness for them who love him and keep his commandments:

Then the king said to me, Concerning what, is it, thou, wouldst make request? So I prayed unto the God of the heavens,

and then said unto the king, If, unto the king, it seemeth good, and if thy servant might find favour before thee, That thou wouldst send me unto Judah, unto the city of the sepulchres of my fathers, that I might build it.

And the king said unto me, the queen, also sitting beside him, For how long would be thy journey? and when wouldst thou return? So it seemed good before the king to send me, and I set him a time.

Then said I unto the king, If, unto the king, it seemeth good, may, letters, be given me, unto the pashas Beyond the River, - that they may convey me over, until I come into Judah;

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.

So I went forth through the valley-gate by night, even unto the front of the snake-fountain, and into the dung-gate, - and I viewed the walls of Jerusalem, how, they, were broken down, and, the gates thereof, consumed with fire.

Then passed I over unto the fountain-gate, and unto the pool of the king, - but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Then went I up in the torrent-bed, by night, and viewed the wall, - and turned back, and entered by the valley-gate, and so returned.

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.

Then answered I them, and said to them - The God of the heavens - he, will prosper us, therefore, we his servants, will arise and build, - But, to you, pertaineth no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Then arose Eliashib the high priest and his brethren the priests, and built the sheep-gate, they, hallowed it, and set up the doors thereof, - even unto the tower of Hammeah, hallowed they it, unto the tower of Hananel;

And, the fish-gate, did the sons of Hassenaah build, - they, laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof;

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;

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;

Now, the Nethinim, were dwelling in Ophel, - as far as over against the water-gate, on the east, and the tower that projecteth;

from beside the horse-gate, repaired the priests, every one over against his own house;

after him, repaired, Zadok son of Immer, over against his own house, - and, after him, repaired, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, keeper of the east-gate;

after him, repaired, Malchijah son of Zorphi, as far as the house of the Nethinim, and the traders, - over against the muster-gate, even unto the ascent of the pinnacle;

and, between the ascent of the pinnacle and the sheep-gate, repaired, the goldsmiths, and the traders.

Hear, O our God, for we have become a contempt, and turn thou back their reproach upon their own head, - and give them up as a prey, in the land of captivity;

howbeit we prayed unto our God, - and set a watch against them, day and night, because of them.

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had overturned their counsel, then returned we, all of us, unto the wall, every man unto his work.

In what place soever ye shall hear the sound of the horn, thither, gather yourselves unto us, - our God, will fight for us.

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?

Also, my lap, shook I out, and said - Thus and thus, may God shake out every man who shall not confirm this promise, out of his house and out of his labour, yea, thus and thus, let him be shaken out and empty, - And all the convocation said, Amen! and praised Yahweh, and the people did according to this promise.

whereas, the former pashas, who were before me, suffered themselves to be a burden upon the people, and took from them in bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver, even, their young men, bare rule over the people, - but, I, did not so, because of the fear of God.

Remember unto me, O my God, for good, - all that I have done for this people.

When, I, came into the house of Shemaiah, son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, he, being shut in, he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, in the midst of the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to slay thee, yea, by night, are they coming to slay thee.

Then perceived I, that lo! it was, not God, who had sent him, - though, a prophecy, he had spoken concerning me, but, Tobiah and Sanballat, had hired him:

Have remembrance, O my God, of Tobiah and of Sanballat, according to these their doings, - moreover also, of Noadiah the prophetess, and of the rest of the prophets, who would have put me in fear.

And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard, and all the nations that were round about us saw, that they fell greatly in their own eyes, and took knowledge that, from God, had this work been wrought.

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.

that I gave Hanani my brother, and Hananiah captain of the castle, charge over Jerusalem, for, he, was a truly faithful man, and revered God above many.

So then my God put it into my heart, and I gathered together the nobles and the deputies and the people, to register their genealogy, - then found I a register roll, of them who came up at the first, and found written therein: -

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 blessed Yahweh the great God, - and all the people responded, Amen! Amen! with the lifting up of their hands, - and they bent their heads and bowed themselves down unto Yahweh, with their faces to the ground.

So they read in the book of the law of God, distinctly, - and, giving the sense, caused them to understand the reading.

Then Nehemiah - he, was the governor - and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who were causing the people to understand, said unto all the people, To-day, is, holy, unto Yahweh your God, do not mourn, nor weep, - for, weeping, were all the people, when they heard the words of the law.

So the people went forth, and brought in, and made themselves booths, every one upon his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water-gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

So he read in the book of the law of God, day by day, from the first day unto the last day, and they kept the festival seven days, and, on the eighth day, a closing feast, according to the regulation.

So they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Yahweh their God, a fourth part of the day, - and, a fourth part, they were making confession and bowing themselves down, unto Yahweh their God.

Then stood up on the platform of the Levites, Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, Chenani, - and made outcry, with a loud voice, unto Yahweh their God.

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.

Thou, art Yahweh, God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, - and madest his name Abraham;

And, upon Mount Sinai, camest thou down, and spakest with them out of the heavens, - and gavest them just regulations, and faithful laws, good statutes and commandments.

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.

Yea, although they made them a molten calf, and said, This, is thy God, that brought thee up out of Egypt, - and wrought great insults,

And, thy Good Spirit, thou gavest, to instruct them, - and, thy manna, thou withheldest not from their mouth, and, water, thou gavest them, for their thirst.

and they captured fortified cities and a fat soil, and took possession of houses full of every good thing, wells digged, vineyards and oliveyards and fruit-trees, in abundance, - so they did eat and were filled and became fat, and luxuriated in thy great goodness.

Yet, in thine abounding compassions, thou didst not make of them an end, neither didst thou forsake them, - for, a GOD gracious and full of compassion, thou art.

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.

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;

And, the rest of the people - the priests, the Levites, the doorkeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, - every one having knowledge and understanding,

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 we laid on ourselves charges, appointing for ourselves the third of a shekel, yearly, - for the service of the house of our God:

for the bread to set in array, and the continual meal-offering, and for the continual ascending-sacrifice, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the appointed feasts, and for things hallowed, and for victims bearing sin, to put a propitiatory-covering over Israel, - and for all the work of the house of our God.

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.

also that, the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, - and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, we would bring in unto the house of our God, unto the priests who should be in attendance in the house of our God;

and, the first part of our meal and our heave-offerings and the fruit of all trees, new wine and oil, would we bring in unto the priests, into the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground unto the Levites, - the Levites themselves, taking the tithes in all our cities of agriculture.

And the priest the son of Aaron should be with the Levites, when the Levites should take the tithes, - and the Levites, should bring up the tithe of the tithe, unto the house of our God, into the chambers pertaining unto the treasure-house.

For, into the chambers, should the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi bring in the heave-offering of the corn, the new wine and the oil, since, there, are the utensils of the sanctuary, and the priests who are in attendance, and the doorkeepers, and the singers, - so would we not neglect the house of our God.

Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, chief ruler of the house of God;

and Shabbethai and Jozabad, over the outside business of the house of God, of the chiefs of the Levites;

And, the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem, was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, - of the sons of Asaph the singers, to take lead in the business of the house of God.

And, the chiefs of the Levites, Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise - to give thanks, by the commandment of David the man of God, - ward joined to ward.

Then brought I up the rulers of Judah upon the wall, - and I appointed two large choirs, even to go in procession to the right, upon the wall, towards the dung-gate;

and his brethren - Shemaiah and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, and Judah, Hanani, with the instruments of music of David, the man of God, - with Ezra the scribe before them;

and, over they fountain gate and straight before them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, - above the house of David, even as far as the water-gate, eastward.

and above the gate of Ephraim, and upon the old gate, and upon the fish-gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Hammeah, even as far as the sheep-gate, - and they came to a stand, at the gate of the guard.

So the two choirs, came to a stand, at the house of God, - and I, and half the deputies with me;

And they sacrificed, on that day, great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for, God, had caused them to rejoice with great joy, moreover also, the women and children, rejoiced, - so that the rejoicing of Jerusalem was heard afar off.

So they kept the charge of their God, and the charge of the purification, and so did the singers and the doorkeepers, - according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son.

For, in the days of David and Asaph, of old, there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving, unto God.

On that day, a portion, was read in the book of Moses, in the ears of the people, - and it was found written therein, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not enter into the convocation of God, unto times age-abiding;

because they met not the sons of Israel, with bread and with water, - but hired against them Balaam, to curse them, although our God turned the curse into a blessing.

Now, before this, Eliashib the priest, who was set over a chamber of the house of God, was allied unto Tobiah;

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;

Then commanded I, and they purified the chambers, - and I put back there, the utensils of the house of God, the meal-offering and the frankincense.

Therefore contended I with the deputies, and said, Wherefore is the house of God, forsaken? So I gathered them together, and set them in their place.

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.

Was it not, thus, your fathers did, and our God brought upon us all this calamity, and upon this city? - and, ye, would add indignation against Israel, by profaning the sabbath!

And I gave word to the Levites, that they should be purifying themselves and coming in, as keepers of the gates, to hallow the sabbath day. This also, remember to me, O my God, and have pity upon me, according to the abundance of thy lovingkindness.

So I contended with them, and laid a curse upon them, and I smote, from among them, certain men, and pulled out their hair, - and I put them on oath by God, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take of their daughters, for your sons nor for yourselves.

Was it not, over these things, that Solomon king of Israel sinned - though, among many nations, there was no king such as he, and he was, beloved by his God, and so God gave him to be king over all Israel, - even him, did foreign women, cause to sin.

Unto you, then, shall we hearken, to do all this great wickedness, to act unfaithfully with our God, - by marrying foreign wives?

Remember them, O my God, - on account of the Defilings of the Priesthood, and the Covenant of the Priesthood, and of the Levites.

also for the offering of wood, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good!