⁶ But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes^(A) king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission

¹⁴ Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,^(A) when I was appointed to be their governor^(B) in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.

²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

⁶ Then the king^(A), with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

2 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,^(A) when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before,

²² For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(A) because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude^(B) of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

The Wickedness of Joash

¹⁷ After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned^(A) the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols.^(B) Because of their guilt, God’s anger^(C) came on Judah and Jerusalem.

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,^(A) they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods^[a] who will go before^(B) us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”^(C)