Nehemiah 2
1 And it came to pass in the month Nissan, in the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes, that wine [stood] before him; and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. But I had never been sad in his presence.
And it comes to pass, in the month of Nisan, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, wine [is] before him, and I lift up the wine, and give to the king, and I had not been sad before him;
2 Then said the king unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing but an illness of heart. Then was I very greatly afraid.
and the king says to me, “Why [is] your face sad, and you not sick? This is nothing except sadness of heart”; and I fear very much,
3 And I said unto the king, May the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth ruined, and her gates are consumed by fire?
and say to the king, “Let the king live for all time! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of the graves of my fathers, [is] a desolation, and its gates have been consumed with fire?”
4 Then said the king unto me, For what then dost thou make request? Then did I pray to the God of heaven.
And the king says to me, “For what are you seeking?” And I pray to the God of the heavens,
5 And I said unto the king, If it seem good to the king, and if thy servant might be pleasing in thy presence, [I desire] that thou wouldst send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
and say to the king, “If [it is] good to the king, and if your servant is pleasing before you, that you send me to Judah, to the city of the graves of my fathers, and I have built it.”
6 And the king said unto me, while the queen was sitting beside him, When is thy journey to be undertaken? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to let me go; and I indicated to him a time.
And the king says to me (and the queen is sitting near him), “How long is your journey? And when do you return?” And it is good before the king, and he sends me away, and I set to him a time.
7 And I said unto the king, If it seem good to the king, let letters be given unto me for the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till the time that I come into Judah;
And I say to the king, “If [it is] good to the king, let letters be given to me for the governors beyond the River, that they let me pass over until I come to Judah:
8 Also a letter unto Assaph the keeper of the king's forests, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall move into. And the king gave [them] to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
and a letter to Asaph, keeper of the paradise that the king has, that he give to me trees for beams [for] the gates of the palace that the house has, and for the wall of the city, and for the house into which I enter”; and the king gives to me, according to the good hand of my God on me.
9 And [so] came I to the governors beyond the river, and I gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.
And I come to the governors beyond the River, and give to them the letters of the king; and the king sends with me heads of a force, and horsemen;
10 When Sanballat the Choronite, and Tobiyah the servant, the 'Ammonite, heard of it, it displeased them exceedingly, that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
and Sanballat the Horonite hears, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and it is evil to them—a great evil—that a man has come to seek good for the sons of Israel.
11 So came I to Jerusalem, and remained there three days.
And I come to Jerusalem, and I am there three days,
12 Then arose I in the night, I and some few men with me; but I had not told any man what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem: nor was there any beast with me, save the beast on which I rode.
and I rise by night, I and a few men with me, and have not declared to a man what my God is giving to my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there is no beast with me except the beast on which I am riding.
13 And I went out through the gate of the valley by night, even toward the direction of the dragon-well, and to the dung-gate; and I was viewing the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates whereof were consumed by fire.
And I go out through the Valley Gate by night, and to the front of the Dragon Fountain, and to the Refuse Gate, and I am inspecting the walls of Jerusalem, that are broken down, and its gates consumed with fire.
14 Then passed I on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool; but there was no space for the beast that was under me to pass through.
And I pass over to the Fountain Gate, and to the King’s Pool, and there is no place for the beast under me to pass over,
15 Then went I up through the valley in the night, and I was viewing the wall, and I returned and entered through the gate of the valley, and so returned home.
and I am going up through the brook by night, and am inspecting the wall, and turn back, and come in through the Valley Gate, and turn back.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I was gone, or what I was doing: nor had I as yet told it to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the superintendents of the work.
And the prefects have not known to where I have gone, and what I am doing; and to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the nobles, and to the prefects, and to the rest of those doing the work, until now I have not declared [it];
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the misery in which we are, how Jerusalem lieth in ruins, and its gates are burnt with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no more be for a reproach.
and I say to them, “You are seeing the evil that we are in, in that Jerusalem [is] desolate, and its gates have been burned with fire; come and we build the wall of Jerusalem, and we are not a reproach anymore.”
18 And I told them of the hand of my God, which was good upon me, as also the king's words which he had spoken unto me. And they said, We will rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
And I declare to them the hand of my God that is good on me, and also the words of the king that he said to me, and they say, “Let us rise, and we have built”; and they strengthen their hands for good.
19 But when Sanballat the Choronite, and Tobiyah the servant, the 'Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye are doing? are ye rebelling against the king?
And Sanballat the Horonite hears, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, and they mock at us, and despise us, and say, “What [is] this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 And I returned them an answer, and said unto them, The God of heaven will indeed give us prosperity, and we his servants will truly rise up and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
And I return them word, and say to them, “The God of the heavens—He gives prosperity to us, and we His servants rise and have built; and to you there is no portion, and right, and memorial in Jerusalem.”
