Nehemiah 2

1And it cometh to pass, in the month of Nisan, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, wine <FI>is<Fi> before him, and I lift up the wine, and give to the king, and I had not been sad before him;

1And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never before been sad when the king was present.

2and the king saith to me, `Wherefore <FI>is<Fi> thy face sad, and thou not sick? this is nothing except sadness of heart;' and I fear very much,

2And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing that you are not ill? this is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was full of fear;

3and say to the king, `Let the king to the age live! wherefore should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of the graves of my fathers, <FI>is<Fi> a waste, and its gates have been consumed with fire?'

3And said to the king, May the king be living for ever: is it not natural for my face to be sad, when the town, the place where the bodies of my fathers are at rest, has been made waste and its doorways burned with fire?

4And the king saith to me, `For what art thou seeking?' and I pray unto the God of the heavens,

4Then the king said to me, What is your desire? So I made prayer to the God of heaven.

5and say to the king, `If to the king <FI>it be<Fi> good, and if thy servant be pleasing before thee, that thou send me unto Judah, unto the city of the graves of my fathers, and I built it.'

5And I said to the king, If it is the king's pleasure, and if your servant has your approval, send me to Judah, to the town where the bodies of my fathers are at rest, so that I may take in hand the building of it.

6And the king saith to me (and the queen is sitting near him), `How long is thy journey? and when dost thou return?' and it is good before the king, and he sendeth me away, and I set to him a time.

6And the king said to me (the queen being seated by his side), How long will your journey take, and when will you come back? So the king was pleased to send me, and I gave him a fixed time.

7And I say to the king, `If to the king <FI>it be<Fi> good, letters let be given to me for the governors beyond the River, that they let me pass over till that I come in unto Judah:

7Further, I said to the king, If it is the king's pleasure, let letters be given to me for the rulers across the river, so that they may let me go through till I come to Judah;

8and a letter unto Asaph, keeper of the paradise that the king hath, that he give to me trees for beams <FI>for<Fi> the gates of the palace that the house hath, and for the wall of the city, and for the house into which I enter;' and the king giveth to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

8And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's park, so that he may give me wood to make boards for the doors of the tower of the house, and for the wall of the town, and for the house which is to be mine. And the king gave me this, for the hand of my God was on me.

9And I come in unto the governors beyond the River, and give to them the letters of the king; and the king sendeth with me heads of a force, and horsemen;

9Then I came to the rulers of the lands across the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.

10and Sanballat the Horonite heareth, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and it is evil to them--a great evil--that a man hath come in to seek good for the sons of Israel.

10And Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, hearing of it, were greatly troubled because a man had come to the help of the children of Israel.

11And I come in unto Jerusalem, and I am there three days,

11So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.

12and I rise by night, I and a few men with me, and have not declared to a man what my God is giving unto my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there is no beast with me except the beast on which I am riding.

12And in the night I got up, taking with me a small band of men; I said nothing to any man of what God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem: and I had no beast with me but the one on which I was seated.

13And I go out through the gate of the valley by night, and unto the front of the fountain of the dragon, and unto the gate of the dunghill, and I am measuring about the walls of Jerusalem, that are broken down, and its gates consumed with fire.

13And I went out by night, through the doorway of the valley, and past the dragon's water-spring as far as the place where waste material was put, viewing the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and the doorways which had been burned with fire.

14And I pass over unto the gate of the fountain, and unto the pool of the king, and there is no place for the beast under me to pass over,

14Then I went on to the door of the fountain and to the king's pool: but there was no room for my beast to get through.

15and I am going up through the brook by night, and am measuring about the wall, and turn back, and come in through the gate of the valley, and turn back.

15Then in the night, I went up by the stream, viewing the wall; then turning back, I went in by the door in the valley, and so came back.

16And the prefects have not known whither I have gone, and what I am doing; and to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the freemen, and to the prefects, and to the rest of those doing the work, hitherto I have not declared <FI>it<Fi> ;

16And the chiefs had no knowledge of where I had been or what I was doing; and I had not then said anything to the Jews or to the priests or the great ones or the chiefs or the rest of those who were doing the work.

17and I say unto them, `Ye are seeing the evil that we are in, in that Jerusalem <FI>is<Fi> waste, and its gates have been burnt with fire; come and we build the wall of Jerusalem, and we are not any more a reproach.'

17Then I said to them, You see what a bad condition we are in; how Jerusalem is a waste, and its doorways burned with fire: come, let us get to work, building up the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer be put to shame.

18And I declare to them the hand of my God that is good upon 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.

18Then I gave them an account of how the hand of my God was on me, helping me; and of the king's words which he had said to me. And they said, Let us get to work on the building. So they made their hands strong for the good work.

19And Sanballat the Horonite heareth, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, and they mock at us, and despise us, and say, `What <FI>is<Fi> this thing that ye are doing? against the king are ye rebelling?'

19But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, hearing of it, made sport of us, laughing at us and saying, What are you doing? will you go against the king?

20And I return them word, and say to them, `The God of the heavens--He doth give prosperity to us, and we His servants rise and have built; and to you there is no portion, and right, and memorial in Jerusalem.'

20Then answering them I said, The God of heaven, he will be our help; so we his servants will go on with our building: but you have no part or right or any name in Jerusalem.