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Nehemiah 1
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass
in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of
Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of
the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity
there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of
Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down
and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of
heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and
terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe
his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou
mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and
night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the
children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's
house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the
commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy
servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy
servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the
nations:
9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them;
though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet
will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have
chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast
redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
11 O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the
prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy
name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the
sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
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