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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