Nehemiah 1:4-2:9
1599 Geneva Bible
4 And when I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, (A)O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him, and observe his commandments,
6 I pray thee let thine ears be attent, and thine eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee daily, day and night for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee, both I and my father’s house have sinned:
7 We have [a]grievously sinned against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 I beseech thee, remember the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, Ye will transgress, and (B)I will scatter you abroad among the people.
9 But if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them, (C)though your scattering were to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather you from thence, and will bring you unto the place that I have chosen to place my Name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy mighty hand.
11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let thine ear now hearken to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to [b]fear thy Name, and I pray thee, cause thy servant to prosper this day, and give him favor in the presence of [c]this man: for I was the king’s butler.
2 1 After Nehemiah had obtained letters of Artaxerxes, 11 he came to Jerusalem, 17 and built the walls.
1 Now in the month [d]Nisan in the twentieth year of king [e]Artaxerxes, the wine stood before him, and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I was not before time sad in his presence.
2 And the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing, but sorrow of heart. Then was I sore afraid,
3 And I said to the King, God save the king forever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city and house of the sepulchers of my fathers lieth waste, and the gates thereof are devoured with fire?
4 And the king said unto me, For what thing doest thou require? Then I prayed [f]to the God of heaven,
5 And said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, I desire that thou wouldest send me to Judah unto the city of the sepulchers of my fathers, that I may build it.
6 And the King said unto me, (the Queen also sitting by him:) How long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou come again? So it pleased the king, and he sent me, and I set him a time.
7 After I said unto the King, If it please the King, let them give me letters to the captains beyond the [g]River, that they may convey me over, till I come into Judah,
8 And letters unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s [h]park, that he may give me timber to build the gates of the palace (which appertained to the house) and for the walls of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king gave me according to [i]the good hand of my God upon me.
9 ¶ Then came I to the captains beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. And the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 1:7 Hebrew, corrupted.
- Nehemiah 1:11 That is, to worship thee.
- Nehemiah 1:11 To wit, the king Artaxerxes.
- Nehemiah 2:1 Which was the first month of the year, and containeth part of March and part of April.
- Nehemiah 2:1 Who is also called Darius, read Ezra 7:1, and was the son of Hystaspis.
- Nehemiah 2:4 I desired God in mine heart to prosper mine enterprise.
- Nehemiah 2:7 Or, Euphrates.
- Nehemiah 2:8 Or, Paradise.
- Nehemiah 2:8 As God moved me to ask, and as he gave me good success therein.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Bible Gateway Recommends
