^27 (A)Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^(B)who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem,

^28 (A)and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.