Nehemiæ 2
1 Factum est autem in mense Nisan, anno vigesimo Artaxerxis regis: et vinum erat ante eum, et levavi vinum, et dedi regi: et eram quasi languidus ante faciem ejus.
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 Dixitque mihi rex: Quare vultus tuus tristis est, cum te ægrotum non videam? non est hoc frustra, sed malum nescio quod in corde tuo est. Et timui valde, ac nimis:
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 et dixi regi: Rex, in æternum vive: quare non mœreat vultus meus, quia civitas domus sepulchrorum patris mei deserta est, et portæ ejus combustæ sunt igni?
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 Et ait mihi rex: Pro qua re postulas? Et oravi Deum cæli,
“What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven
5 et dixi ad regem: Si videtur regi bonum, et si placet servus tuus ante faciem tuam, ut mittas me in Judæam ad civitatem sepulchri patris mei, et ædificabo eam.
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 Dixitque mihi rex, et regina quæ sedebat juxta eum: Usque ad quod tempus erit iter tuum, et quando reverteris? Et placuit ante vultum regis, et misit me: et constitui ei tempus.
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 Et dixi regi: Si regi videtur bonum, epistolas det mihi ad duces regionis trans flumen, ut traducant me, donec veniam in Judæam:
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 et epistolam ad Asaph custodem saltus regis, ut det mihi ligna, ut tegere possim portas turris domus, et muros civitatis, et domum quam ingressus fuero. Et dedit mihi rex juxta manum Dei mei bonam mecum.
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 Et veni ad duces regionis trans flumen, dedique eis epistolas regis. Miserat autem rex mecum principes militum, et equites.
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 Et audierunt Sanaballat Horonites, et Tobias servus Ammanites: et contristati sunt afflictione magna, quod venisset homo qui quæreret prosperitatem filiorum Israël.
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 Et veni Jerusalem, et eram ibi tribus diebus.
After I had arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,
12 Et surrexi nocte ego, et viri pauci mecum, et non indicavi cuiquam quid Deus dedisset in corde meo ut facerem in Jerusalem: et jumentum non erat mecum, nisi animal cui sedebam.
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 Et egressus sum per portam vallis nocte, et ante fontem draconis, et ad portam stercoris, et considerabam murum Jerusalem dissipatum, et portas ejus consumptas igni.
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 Et transivi ad portam fontis, et ad aquæductum regis, et non erat locus jumento cui sedebam ut transiret.
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 Et ascendi per torrentem nocte, et considerabam murum, et reversus veni ad portam vallis, et redii.
so I went up the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I headed back and reentered through the Valley Gate.
16 Magistratus autem nesciebant quo abiissem, aut quid ego facerem: sed et Judæis, et sacerdotibus, et optimatibus, et magistratibus, et reliquis qui faciebant opus, usque ad id loci nihil indicaveram.
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 Et dixi eis: Vos nostis afflictionem in qua sumus: quia Jerusalem deserta est, et portæ ejus consumptæ sunt igni: venite, et ædificemus muros Jerusalem, et non simus ultra opprobrium.
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 Et indicavi eis manum Dei mei, quod esset bona mecum, et verba regis quæ locutus esset mihi, et aio: Surgamus, et ædificemus. Et confortatæ sunt manus eorum in bono.
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 Audierunt autem Sanaballat Horonites, et Tobias servus Ammanites, et Gosem Arabs, et subsannaverunt nos, et despexerunt, dixeruntque: Quæ est hæc res quam facitis? numquid contra regem vos rebellatis?
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 Et reddidi eis sermonem, dixique ad eos: Deus cæli ipse nos juvat, et nos servi ejus sumus: surgamus et ædificemus: vobis autem non est pars, et justitia, et memoria in Jerusalem.
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.”
