Nehemiæ 1

1 Verba Nehemiæ filii Helchiæ. Et factum est in mense Casleu, anno vigesimo, et ego eram in Susis castro.

The words of Nehemiah the sonne of Hachaliah. In ye moneth Chisleu, in the twentieth yeere, as I was in the palace of Shushan,

2 Et venit Hanani, unus de fratribus meis, ipse et viri ex Juda: et interrogavi eos de Judæis qui remanserant, et supererant de captivitate, et Jerusalem.

Came Hanam, one of my brethren, he and the men of Iudah, and I asked them concerning the Iewes that were deliuered, which were of the residue of the captiuitie, and concerning Ierusalem.

3 Et dixerunt mihi: Qui remanserunt, et relicti sunt de captivitate ibi in provincia, in afflictione magna sunt, et in opprobrio: et murus Jerusalem dissipatus est, et portæ ejus combustæ sunt igni.

And they sayde vnto me, The residue that are left of the captiuitie there in the prouince, are in great affliction and in reproche, and the wall of Ierusalem is broken downe, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire.

4 Cumque audissem verba hujuscemodi, sedi, et flevi, et luxi diebus multis: jejunabam, et orabam ante faciem Dei cæli:

And when I heard these wordes, I sate downe and wept, and mourned certeine dayes, and I fasted and prayed before the God of heauen,

5 et dixi: Quæso, Domine Deus cæli fortis, magne atque terribilis, qui custodis pactum et misericordiam cum his qui te diligunt, et custodiunt mandata tua:

And sayde, O Lord God of heauen, the great and terrible God, that keepeth couenant and mercy for them that loue him, and obserue his commandements,

6 fiant aures tuæ auscultantes, et oculi tui aperti, ut audias orationem servi tui, quam ego oro coram te hodie nocte et die pro filiis Israël servis tuis: et confiteor pro peccatis filiorum Israël, quibus peccaverunt tibi: ego et domus patris mei peccavimus,

I pray thee, let thine eares be attet, and thine eies open, to heare the praier of thy seruat, which I pray before thee dayly, day and night for ye childre of Israel thy seruats, and confesse the sinnes of the children of Israel, which we haue sinned against thee, both I and my fathers house haue sinned:

7 vanitate seducti sumus, et non custodivimus mandatum tuum, et cæremonias, et judicia quæ præcepisti Moysi famulo tuo.

We haue grieuously sinned against thee, and haue not kept the commandements, nor the statutes, nor the iudgements, which thou commandedst thy seruant Moses.

8 Memento verbi quod mandasti Moysi servo tuo, dicens: Cum transgressi fueritis, ego dispergam vos in populos:

I beseeche thee, remember the worde that thou commandedst thy seruant Moses, saying, Ye wil transgresse, and I will scatter you abroade among the people.

9 et si revertamini ad me, et custodiatis præcepta mea, et faciatis ea: etiamsi abducti fueritis ad extrema cæli, inde congregabo vos, et reducam in locum quem elegi ut habitaret nomen meum ibi.

But if ye turne vnto me, and keepe my commandements, and doe them, though your scattering were to the vttermost part of the heauen, yet will I gather you from thence, and will bring you vnto the place that I haue chosen to place my Name there.

10 Et ipsi servi tui, et populus tuus, quos redemisti in fortitudine tua magna, et in manu tua valida.

Now these are thy seruants and thy people, whome thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy mightie hand.

11 Obsecro, Domine, sit auris tua attendens ad orationem servi tui, et ad orationem servorum tuorum, qui volunt timere nomen tuum: et dirige servum tuum hodie, et da ei misericordiam ante virum hunc. Ego enim eram pincerna regis.

O Lord, I beseech thee, let thine eare now hearken to the prayer of thy seruant, and to the prayer of thy seruants, who desire to feare thy Name, and I pray thee, cause thy seruant to prosper this day, and giue him fauour in the presence of this man: for I was the Kings butler.