¶ The words of Nehemiah¹ the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month² Chisleu, in the twentieth³ year, as I was in Shushan⁴ the palace,

That Hanani⁵, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked⁶ them concerning the Jews that had escaped⁷, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province⁸ are in great⁹ affliction and reproach¹⁰: the wall¹¹ of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down¹² and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God¹³ of heaven,

¶ And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great¹⁴ and terrible God, that keepeth¹⁵ covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

Let thine ear¹⁶ now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night¹⁷, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess¹⁸ the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I¹⁹ and my father's house have sinned.

We have dealt²⁰ very corruptly²¹ against thee, and have not kept the commandments²², nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou²³ commandedst thy servant Moses.

Remember²⁴, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress²⁵, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

But if ye turn²⁶ unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I²⁷ gather them from thence, and will bring²⁸ them unto the place²⁹ that I have chosen to set my name there.

¶ Now these³⁰ are thy servants and thy people, whom³¹ thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong³² hand.

O Lord, I beseech thee, let now³³ thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire³⁴ to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant³⁵ him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was³⁶ the king's cupbearer.