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1 And so it was in the month of Nisan, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, wine was before him, and I took the wine and I gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad before his face.
2 And the king, he said to me, “Why is your face sad? For you yourself do not appear to be ill. This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
3 And I said to the king, “The king— may he exist forever! Why should not my face be sad, because the city, the house of the tombs of my fathers, is dried up, and her gates— they have been devoured by fire!”
4 And the king, he said to me, “For what thing are you seeking?” And I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I replied to the king, “If it is good to the king, and if your servant has done good before your face, you could send me to Judah, to the city of the tombs of my fathers, and I will rebuild her.”
6 And the king replied to me (and the queen was sitting beside him), “Until when will you be leaving and when will you return?” And it was good before the face of the king to send me, so I gave to him the dates.
7 Then I said to the king, “If it is good to the king, may letters be given to me for the governors of Beyond the River which will permit me to continue until when I come to Judah.
8 Also, a letter to Asaph the keeper of the forest which belongs to the king, that he may give to me timbers to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is next to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house in which I will live.” And the king gave this to me, because the good hand of my God was on me.
9 And I came to the governors of Beyond the River and I gave to them the letters of the king. And he, the king, sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were upset with great displeasure at it, that a man had come who was seeking the good of the sons of Israel.
11 And I came to Jerusalem and I was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, myself and a few people with me. And I did not tell any man what my God had given to my heart to do for Jerusalem. And there was no animal with me, except only that animal on which I was riding.
13 And I went out by night by the Gate of the Valley, and before the face of the Spring of the Dragons, and to the Gate of Dung, and I was inspecting at the walls of Jerusalem, which had been breached, and the gates, destroyed by fire.
14 And I passed by the Gate of the Spring and to the Reservoir of the King. And there was no space for the animal to pass by underneath me.
15 And I was following the creek up by night and I was inspecting the wall; and I turned around and I entered by the Gate of the Valley, and I returned.
16 And the rulers, they did not know where I went or what I was doing, and to the Jews, or the priests, or the nobles, or the rulers, or the rest who were doing the work, I had not yet so communicated.
17 And I said to them, “You see the bad situation which we have in her, that Jerusalem is dried up and her gates have been burned by fire. Get up, and we will build the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”
18 And I explained to them the good hand of my God which was on me and furthermore the words of the king that he spoke to me. And they said, “We will rise up and we will build.” And they strengthened their hands for the good work.
19 Then Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arabian heard, so they mocked us and they ridiculed us, and they said, “What is this thing which you are attempting? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 And I spoke a word at them, and I said to them: “The God of Heaven, he will prosper us. And we— his servants— we will get up and we will build. And for you, there is no share, or right, or heritage in Jerusalem.”
The Book of Nehemiah