Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

1 The words of ^(A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in ^(B)the month Chislev, ^(C)in the twentieth year, while I was in ^(D)Susa the ^[a]capitol, ² that ^(E)Hanani, one of my brothers, and ^[b]some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³ They said to me, “The remnant there in the ^(F)province who survived the captivity are in great distress and ^(G)reproach, and ^(H)the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^(I)its gates are burned with fire.”

⁴ When I heard these words, ^(J)I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before ^(K)the God of heaven. ⁵ I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, ^(L)the great and awesome God, ^(M)who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, ^6 (N)let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, ^(O)confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; ^(P)I and my father’s house have sinned. ^7 (Q)We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances ^(R)which You commanded Your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘^(S)If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; ^9 (T)but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I ^(U)will gather them from there and will bring them ^(V)to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ ^10 (W)They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, I beseech You, ^(X)may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to ^[c]revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”

Now I was the ^(Y)cupbearer to the king.

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

The First Seal—Rider on White Horse

6 Then I saw when the ^(A)Lamb broke one of the ^(B)seven seals, and I heard one of the ^(C)four living creatures saying as with a ^(D)voice of thunder, “Come^[a].” ² I looked, and behold, a ^(E)white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and ^(F)a crown was given to him, and he went out ^(G)conquering and to conquer.

The Second Seal—War

³ When He broke the second seal, I heard the ^(H)second living creature saying, “Come^[b].” ⁴ And another, ^(I)a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to ^(J)take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

The Third Seal—Famine

⁵ When He broke the third seal, I heard the ^(K)third living creature saying, “Come^[c].” I looked, and behold, a ^(L)black horse; and he who sat on it had a ^(M)pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard something like a voice in the center of the ^(N)four living creatures saying, “A ^[d]quart of wheat for a ^[e]denarius, and three ^[f]quarts of barley for a ^[g]denarius; and ^(O)do not damage the oil and the wine.”

The Fourth Seal—Death

⁷ When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the ^(P)fourth living creature saying, “Come^[h].” ⁸ I looked, and behold, an ^[i](Q)ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name ^(R)Death; and ^(S)Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, ^(T)to kill with sword and with famine and with ^[j]pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The Fifth Seal—Martyrs

⁹ When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw ^(U)underneath the ^(V)altar the ^(W)souls of those who had been slain ^(X)because of the word of God, and because of the ^(Y)testimony which they had maintained; ¹⁰ and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “^(Z)How long, O ^[k](AA)Lord, ^(AB)holy and true, ^[l]will You refrain from ^(AC)judging and avenging our blood on ^(AD)those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ And ^(AE)there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should ^(AF)rest for a little while longer, ^(AG)until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be ^(AH)completed also.

The Sixth Seal—Terror

¹² I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great ^(AI)earthquake; and the ^(AJ)sun became black as ^(AK)sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; ¹³ and ^(AL)the stars of the sky fell to the earth, ^(AM)as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. ^14 (AN)The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and ^(AO)every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵ Then ^(AP)the kings of the earth and the great men and the ^[m]commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ and they *^(AQ)said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the ^[n]presence of Him ^(AR)who sits on the throne, and from the ^(AS)wrath of the Lamb; ¹⁷ for ^(AT)the great day of their wrath has come, and ^(AU)who is able to stand?”