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.

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.

⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven,

I was cupbearer^(C) to the king.