Nehemiah 1

1 The wordis of Neemye, the sone of Helchie. And it was doon in the monethe Casleu, in the twentithe yeer, and Y was in the castel Susis;

THE WORDS of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the castle,

2 and Ananye, oon of my britheren, cam to me, he and men of Juda; and Y axide hem of the Jewis, that weren left, and weren alyue of the caitifte, and of Jerusalem.

that Hanani, one of my brethren, came out of Judah, he and certain men; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, that were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 And thei seiden to me, Thei that `dwelliden, and ben left of the caitifte there in the prouynce, ben in greet turment, and in schenship; and the wal of Jerusalem is destried, and the yatis therof ben brent with fier.

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 whanne Y hadde herd siche wordis, Y sat and wepte, and morenede many daies, and Y fastide, and preiede bifor the face of God of heuene;

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,

5 and Y seide, Y biseche, Lord God of heuene, strong, greet, and ferdful, which kepist couenaunt and merci with hem, that louen thee, and kepen thin heestis;

and said: 'I beseech Thee, O LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awful God, that keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments;

6 thin eere be maad herknynge, and thin iyen openyd, that thou here the preier of thi seruaunt, bi which Y preie bifor thee `to dai, bi nyyt and dai, for the sones of Israel, thi seruauntis, and `Y knouleche for the synnes of the sones of Israel, bi which thei han synned to thee; bothe Y and the hows of my fadir han synned; we weren disseyued bi vanyte,

let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel Thy servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee; yea, I and my father's house have sinned.

7 and we `kepten not `thi comaundement, and cerymonyes, and domes, which thou comaundidist to Moises, thi seruaunt.

We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses.

8 Haue mynde of the word, which thou comaundidist to thi seruaunt Moises, and seidist, Whanne ye han trespassid, Y schal scatere you in to puplis;

Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou didst command Thy servant Moses, saying: If ye deal treacherously, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples;

9 and if ye turnen ayen to me, that ye kepe myn heestis, and do tho, yhe, thouy ye ben led awei to the fertheste thingis of heuene, fro thennus Y schal gadere you togidere, and Y schal brynge you in to the place, which Y chees, that my name schulde dwelle there.

but if ye return unto Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though your dispersed were in 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 cause My name to dwell there.

10 And we ben thi seruauntis, and thi puple, whiche thou `ayen bouytist in thi greet strengthe, and in thi strong hond.

Now these are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power, and by Thy strong hand.

11 Lord, Y biseche, `thin eere be ententif to the preier of thi seruaunt, and to the preier of thi seruauntis, that wolen drede thi name; and dresse thi seruaunt to dai, and yiue thou merci to him bifor this man. For Y was the boteler of the kyng.

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 delight to fear Thy name; and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.' Now I was cupbearer to the king.