Nehemiah 2
1 Nowe in the moneth Nisan in the twentieth yere of king Artahshashte, the wine stoode before him, and I tooke vp the wine, and gaue it vnto the King. nowe I was not before time 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,
2 And the king said vnto me, Why is thy coutenance sad, seeing thou art not sicke? this is nothing, but sorow of heart. Then was I sore afrayd,
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
3 And I said to the King, God saue the King for euer: why should not my countenance be sad, when the citie and house of the sepulchres of my fathers lieth waste, and the gates thereof are deuoured 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?”
4 And the King said vnto me, For what thing doest thou require? Then I prayed to the God of heauen,
“What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven
5 And sayde vnto the King, If it please the King, and if thy seruant haue found fauour in thy sight, I desire that thou wouldest send me to Iudah vnto the city of the sepulchres of my fathers, that I may buyld 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.”
6 And the King sayd vnto me, (the Queene also sitting by him) How long shall thy iourney be? and when wilt thou come againe? So it pleased the King, and he sent 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.
7 After I saide vnto the King, If it please the King, let them giue mee letters to the captaines beyond the Riuer, that they may conuay me ouer, till I come into Iudah,
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.
8 And letters vnto Asaph the keeper of the Kings parke, that hee may giue me timber to buylde the gates of the palace (which apperteined to the house) and for the walles of the citie, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the King gaue me according to the good hand of my God vpon 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.
9 Then came I to the captaines beyonde the Riuer, and gaue them the Kings letters. And the King had sent captaines of the armie and horsemen with me.
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.
10 But Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah a seruant an Ammonite heard it, and it grieued them sore, that there was come a man which sought the wealth 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.
11 So I came to Ierusalem, and was there three dayes.
After I had arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,
12 And I rose in the night, I, and a fewe men with me: for I told no man, what God had put in mine heart to do at Ierusalem, and there was not a beast with me, saue the beast whereon I rode.
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.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, and came before the dragon well, and to the dung porte, and vewed the walles of Ierusalem, howe they were broken downe, and the portes thereof deuoured with the 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.
14 Then I went foorth vnto the gate of the fountaine, and to the Kings fishpoole, and there was no rowme for the beast that was vnder me to passe.
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;
15 Then went I vp in ye night by the brooke, and viewed the wall, and turned backe, and comming backe, I entred by the gate of the valley and returned.
so I went up the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I headed back and reentered through the Valley Gate.
16 And the rulers knewe not whither I was gone, nor what I did, neither did I as yet tell it vnto the Iewes, nor to the Priestes, nor to the noble men, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that laboured in the worke.
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.
17 Afterward I said vnto them, Ye see the miserie that we are in, how Ierusalem lyeth waste, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire: come and let vs buylde the wall of Ierusalem, that we be no more a reproche.
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.”
18 Then I tolde them of the hande of my God, (which was good ouer me) and also of the Kings wordes that he had spoken vnto me. And they sayd, Let vs rise, and buyld. So they strengthened their hand to good.
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.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the seruant an Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they mocked vs and despised vs, and said, What a thing is this that ye doe? Will ye rebell 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?”
20 Then answered I them, and sayd to them, The God of heauen, he will prosper vs, and we his seruants will rise vp and buylde: but as for you, ye haue no portion nor right, nor memoriall in Ierusalem.
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.”
