The words of ^aNehemiah son of Hacaliah:

Now it happened in ^bthe month of Chislev, ^cin the ¹twentieth year of the ²Persian king, as I was in the ³capitol of ^dSusa, 2 ^aHanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the ^aprovince who survived the captivity are in great distress and ^breproach; ^cthe wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^dits fortified gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.”

4 Now it came about when I heard these words, ^aI sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying constantly before ^bthe God of heaven. 5 And I said, “Please, O LORD God of heaven, ^athe great and awesome God, ^bwho keeps the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 ^aplease let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You, day and night, on behalf of Your servants, the ¹sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob) , ^bconfessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; ^cI and my father’s house have sinned. 7 ^aWe have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances ^bwhich You commanded Your servant Moses. Deut 6:1-9 8 Please remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘^aIf you are unfaithful and violate your obligations to Me I will scatter you abroad among the peoples; Lev 26:33 9 ^abut if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered are in the most remote part of the ¹heavens, ^bI will gather them from there and will bring them ^cto the place where I have chosen for My ²Name to dwell.’ Deut 30:1-5 10 Now ^athey are Your servants and Your people whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 Please, O Lord, ^alet Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to reverently fear Your Name Your essence, Your nature, Your attributes, with awe; and make Your servant successful this day and grant him compassion in the sight of this man the king.”

For I was ^1bcupbearer to the king of Persia.

The words of ^aNehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in ^bthe month Chislev, ^cin the twentieth year, while I was in ^dSusa the ¹capitol, 2 that ^aHanani, one of my brothers, ¹and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped ²and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the ^aprovince who survived the captivity are in great distress and ^bdisgrace, and ^cthe wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^dits gates have been burned with fire.”

4 Now when I heard these words, ^aI sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before ^bthe God of heaven. 5 I said, “Please, LORD God of heaven, ^athe great and awesome God, ^bwho keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments: 6 ^alet Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, ^bconfessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; ^cI and my father’s house have sinned. 7 ^aWe have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances ^bwhich You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘^aIf you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 ^abut if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I ^bwill gather them from there and bring them ^cto the place where I have chosen to have My name dwell.’ 10 ^aThey are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 Please, Lord, ^amay Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to ¹revere Your name, and please make Your servant successful today and grant him mercy before this man.”

Now I was the ^bcupbearer to the king.

The words of ^aNehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in ^bthe month Chislev, ^cin the twentieth year—and I was in ^dSusa the ¹capitol— 2 that ^aHanani, one of my brothers, and ¹some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and remain from the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the ^aprovince who remain from the captivity are in great calamity and ^breproach, and ^cthe wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^dits gates are burned with fire.”

4 Now it happened that when I heard these words, ^aI sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before ^bthe God of heaven. 5 I said, “I beseech You, O ¹Yahweh, the God of heaven, ^athe great and fearsome God, ^bwho keeps the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 ^alet Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your slave which I am praying before You today, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your slaves, ^bconfessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; ^cI and my father’s house have sinned. 7 ^aWe have worked in utter destruction against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments ^bwhich You commanded Your ¹servant Moses. 8 Remember the word which You commanded Your ¹servant Moses, saying, ‘^aIf you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 ^abut if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been banished were at the ends of the sky, I ^bwill gather them from there and will bring them ^cto the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 10 ^aThey are Your slaves and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, ^amay Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your slave and the prayer of Your slaves who delight to fear Your name, and make Your slave successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”

Now I was the ^bcupbearer to the king.

The words of ^aNehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in ^bthe month Chislev, ^cin the twentieth year, while I was in ^dSusa the ¹capitol, 2 that ^aHanani, one of my brothers, and ¹some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the ^aprovince who survived the captivity are in great distress and ^breproach, and ^cthe wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^dits gates are burned with fire.”

4 When I heard these words, ^aI sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before ^bthe God of heaven. 5 I said, “I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, ^athe great and awesome God, ^bwho preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 ^alet Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, ^bconfessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; ^cI and my father’s house have sinned. 7 ^aWe have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances ^bwhich You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘^aIf you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 ^abut if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I ^bwill gather them from there and will bring them ^cto the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 10 ^aThey are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, ^amay Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to ¹revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”

Now I was the ^bcupbearer to the king.