Verse
WEB
World English Bible
BSB
Berean Standard Bible
It
happened
in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes
the
king, when wine was before him, that
I took up
the wine ,
and gave it to the king. Now
I had not
been [before]
sad in his presence .
Now
in the month of
Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes
, when wine was set
before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never
been sad in his presence ,
The king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing
you are not sick
? this is
nothing
else
but
sorrow
of heart. Then
I was very
sore
afraid.
so
the king said to me, “
Why is your face sad, though
you are not ill
? This could
only
be
sadness
of the
heart. ”
I was overwhelmed
with
fear
I
said
to the king, Let
the king live forever :
why should not my
face
be sad ,
when the city ,
the
place
of
my fathers '
tombs,
lies waste
, and the
gates of
it
are
consumed
with
fire?
and
replied
to the king, “May
the king live forever !
Why should I
not be sad when the city where
my fathers are
buried
lies in
ruins
, and its
gates have
been
destroyed
by
fire? ”
Then
the
king
said
to
me,
For
what do
you
make
request? So I prayed to the God of heaven .
“
What is
your
request? ”
replied
the
king.
So I prayed to the God of heaven
I
said
to
the king, If it please
the king, and if your servant have
found favor in your sight, that you would
send me to Judah, to the city of
my fathers '
tombs
, that I may build
it.
and
answered
the king, “
If it pleases
the king, and if your servant has
found favor in your sight, I
ask
that you send me to Judah, to the city where
my fathers are
buried
, so
that I may rebuild
it. ”
The king said
to
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.
Then
the king ,
with
the queen seated
beside
him, asked
me,
“
How long will
your journey take,
and when will you return? ”
So it pleased the king to send me ,
and I set a time.
Moreover
I said to the
king
, If it please
the king, let
letters be given me
to the governors beyond
the River
, that they may
let
me pass
through
until I come
to
Judah ;
I also
said to him
, “
If it pleases
the king, may
letters be given to me
for
the governors west
of
the Euphrates
, so
that they will
grant
me safe
passage
until I reach
Judah .
and a letter to Asaph the
keeper of the king's
forest, that he may
give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle
which
appertains
to the house
, and
for the wall
of
the
city, and for the house that
I shall
enter
into
. The
king
granted
me,
according
to
the good
hand of my God on
me.
And may
I
have
a letter to Asaph ,
keeper of the king’s
forest, so
that he will
give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel
to the temple
, for the city wall
, and for the house I will
occupy
. ”
And
because
the gracious
hand of my God was
upon
me ,
the
king
granted
my
requests
.
Then I came
to the governors beyond
the River,
and gave them the king's
letters. Now
the king had sent with
me
captains
of
the
army and horsemen
.
Then I went
to the governors west
of
the Euphrates
and gave them the king’s
letters. The king had also
sent army officers
and cavalry
with
me
.
When Sanballat the Horonite ,
and Tobiah the servant,
the
Ammonite ,
heard of
it,
it
grieved
them
exceedingly
, because
a
man
had come to seek the welfare
of the children
of
Israel
.
But
when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official
heard about
this
, they
were
deeply
disturbed
that
someone
had come to seek the well-being
of the Israelites
.
So
I came
to
Jerusalem ,
and was
there three days .
After
I had
arrived
in
Jerusalem and had
been
there three days ,
I arose
in
the
night ,
I
and
some
few men with
me;
neither
told
I any
man
what my God put
into
my heart to do for Jerusalem ;
neither
was
there
any
animal with me ,
except
the animal
that
I
rode
on.
I set
out
at
night with
a
few men .
I did
not
tell
anyone
what my God had
laid
on
my heart to do for Jerusalem .
The
only
animal with me was
the one
on which
I
was
riding
.
I went out by
night by
the valley gate ,
even
toward the jackal's
well ,
and to
the dung gate, and viewed
the walls of Jerusalem ,
which
were
broken down ,
and the gates of
it
were
consumed
with
fire.
So
I went out at
night through
the Valley Gate toward the Well of
the
Serpent
and the Dung Gate, and I
inspected
the walls of Jerusalem that
had
been
broken down and the gates that
had
been
destroyed
by
fire.
Then I went on to the spring
gate and to
the king's
pool :
but there was no place
for the animal that
was
under me to pass.
Then I went on to the Fountain
Gate and the King’s
Pool ,
but there was no room
for the animal under me to get
through;
Then
went
I up in
the night
by the
brook,
and viewed
the wall ;
and
I turned
back ,
and entered
by
the valley gate ,
and
so
returned
.
so
I went
up the valley
by night
and inspected
the wall .
Then
I headed
back and reentered
through
the Valley Gate.
The rulers
didn't
know where I went,
or what I did;
neither
had
I as
yet told it
to
the Jews ,
nor
to
the
priests ,
nor
to
the
nobles ,
nor
to
the
rulers,
nor
to
the
rest
who
did
the
work
.
The officials
did
not
know where I had
gone
or what I was
doing,
for
I had
not
yet told the Jews or
priests or
nobles or
officials
or
any
other
workers
.
Then said
I to them, You see the evil
case
that
we are in ,
how
Jerusalem lies waste
, and the
gates of
it
are
burned with
fire:
come, and
let us build
up
the wall of Jerusalem, that we be
no more
a reproach
.
Then I said
to them, “
You see the trouble
we are in .
Jerusalem lies in
ruins
, and its
gates have
been
burned down.
Come, let us rebuild
the wall of Jerusalem, so
that we will
no longer
be
a disgrace
. ”
I told them of
the hand of my God which
was
good
on
me, as
also
of
the king's
words
that
he
had spoken
to me. They
said,
Let us rise
up
and build.
So
they strengthened
their hands for
the
good [
work ]
.
I also
told them about
the gracious
hand of my God upon
me, and
what
the king
had said
to me. “
Let us start
rebuilding,”
they
replied,
and they set
their hands to
this
good work.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and
Tobiah the servant,
the
Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian,
heard it
, they ridiculed
us ,
and despised
us, and
said
, What is this thing
that
you do
? will
you rebel
against the king?
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official
, and Geshem the Arab
heard about
this
, they mocked
us and ridiculed
us, saying
, “
What is this you are
doing
? Are
you rebelling
against the king? ”
Then
answered
I them ,
and said to
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.
So
I answered
them and said, “
The God of heaven is
the
One
who
will grant
us success.
We ,
His servants ,
will start
rebuilding,
but you have no portion, right, or
claim
in Jerusalem. ”
Scripture text: World English Bible and Berean Standard Bible. Public domain; “World English Bible” is a trademark of eBible.org.; Public domain; source text distributed by BSB Publishing, LLC..