Nehemiah 2
1 Forsothe it was doon in the monethe Nysan, in the twentithe yeer of Artaxerses, kyng, and wyn was bifor hym, and Y reyside the wyn, and yaf to the kyng, and Y was as langwischynge bifor his face.
And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence.
2 And the kyng seide to me, Whi is thi cheer sory, sithen Y se not thee sijk? This is not without cause; but `yuel, Y not what, is in thin herte. And Y dredde ful greetli;
And the king said to me, Why is thy face sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sadness of heart. And I was very sore afraid.
3 and seide to the kyng, Kyng, lyue thou withouten ende; whi moreneth not my cheer? for the citee of the hows of the sepulcris of my fadir is desert, `ether forsakun, and the yatis therof ben brent with fier.
And I said to the king, Let the king live for ever! Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?
4 And the kyng seide to me, For what thing axist thou? And Y preiede God of heuene,
And the king said to me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of the heavens.
5 and seide to the kyng, If it semeth good to the kyng, and if it plesith thi seruauntis bifor thi face, Y biseche, that thou sende me in to Judee, to the citee of the sepulcre of my fadir, and Y schal bilde it.
And I said to the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
6 And the kyng seide to me, and the queen sat bisidis him, `Til to what tyme schal thi weie be, and whanne schalt thou turne ayen? And Y pleside `bifor the cheer of the kyng, and he sente me, and Y ordeynede to hym a time;
And the king said to me — the queen also sitting by him, — For how long shall thy journey be, and when wilt thou return? And it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7 and Y seide to `the kyng, If it semeth good to kyng, yyue he pistlis to me to the duykis of the cuntrey biyende the flood, that thei lede me ouer, til Y come in to Judee;
And I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may set me forward till I come into Judah;
8 `and a pistle to Asaph, kepere of the kyngis forest, that he yyue trees to me, that Y may hile the yatis of the tour of the hows, and of the wal of the citee, and the hows, into which Y schal entre. And `the kyng yaf to me, bi the good hond of my God with me.
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 palace which [appertains] to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 And Y cam to the duykis of the cuntrei biyende the flood, and Y yaf to hem the pistlis of the kyng. Sotheli the kyng `hadde sent with me the princes of knyytis, and horsemen.
And I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of a force and horsemen with me.
10 And Sanaballath Oronythes, and Tobie, the seruaunt Amanytes, herden, and thei weren soreuful bi greet turment, for a man was comun, that souyte prosperite of the sones of Israel.
And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobijah the servant, the Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
11 And Y cam in to Jerusalem, and Y was there thre daies.
And I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And Y roos bi nyyt, Y and a fewe men with me, and Y schewide not to ony man, what thing God hadde youe in myn herte, that Y wolde do in Jerusalem; and no werk beest was with me, no but the beeste, `on which Y sat.
And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me — but I told no man what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem — and there was no beast with me, except the beast that I rode upon.
13 And Y yede out bi the yate of the valei bi nyyt, and bifor the welle of dragoun, and to the yat of drit; and Y bihelde the wal of Jerusalem distried, and the yatis therof wastid bi fier.
And I went out by night by the valley-gate, even toward the jackal-fountain, and to the dung-gate; and I viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were in ruins, and its gates were consumed with fire.
14 And Y passid to the yate of the welle, and to the watir cundit of the kyng, and no place was to the hors, `on which Y sat `for to passe;
And I went on to the fountain-gate, and to the king's pool; and there was no place for the beast under me to pass.
15 and Y stiede bi the stronde `in nyyt, and Y bihelde the wal, and Y turnede ayen, and cam to the yate of the valei, and Y yede ayen.
And I went up in the night through the valley, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the valley-gate and returned.
16 Forsothe the magistratis wisten not, whidir Y hadde go, ethir what Y wolde do; but also Y hadde not schewid ony thing to the Jewis, and prestis, and to the best men, and magestratis, and to othere men that maden the werk, `til to that `place, that is, til to that tyme.
And the rulers did not know whither I went or what I did, for I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 And Y seide to hem, Ye knowen the turment, in which we ben, for Jerusalem is deseert, and the yatis therof ben wastid with fier; come ye, bilde we the wallis of Jerusalem, and be we no more schenship.
And I said to them, Ye see the distress that we are in, that Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18 And Y schewide to hem the hond of my God, that it was good with me, and the wordis of the kyng, whiche he spak to me; and Y seide, Rise we, and bilde we; and the hondis of hem weren coumfortid in good.
And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me; as also of the king's words which he had said unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. And they strengthened their hands for the good [work].
19 Forsothe Sanballath Oronytes, and Tobie, the seruaunt Amanytes, and Gosem Arabs, herden, and scorneden vs, and dispisiden; and seiden, What is this thing, which ye doon? whether ye rebellen ayens the kyng?
And Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobijah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it; and they mocked us and despised us, and said, What is this thing which ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
20 And Y yeldide to hem a word, and seide to hem, God hym silf of heuene helpith vs, and we ben hise seruauntis; rise we, and bilde; forsothe part and riytfulnesse and mynde in Jerusalem is not to you.
And I answered them, and said to them, The God of the heavens, he will prosper us, and we his servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.
