Nehemiah 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
1 The words of Nehemiah(A) son of Hacaliah:
News from Jerusalem
During the month of Chislev[a](B) in the twentieth year,[b](C) when I was in the fortress city of Susa,(D) 2 Hanani,(E) one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant(F) that had survived the exile.(G) 3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province,(H) who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned down.”(I)
Nehemiah’s Prayer
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying(J) before the God of heaven.(K) 5 I said,(L)
Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him(M) and keep His commands,(N) 6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive(O) to hear Your servant’s prayer that I now pray to You day and night(P) for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins[c] we have committed against You. Both I and my father’s house have sinned.(Q) 7 We have acted corruptly toward You and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances You gave Your servant Moses.(R) 8 Please remember what You commanded Your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.(S) 9 But if you return to Me and carefully observe My commands, even though your exiles were banished to the ends of the earth,[d] I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have My name dwell.”(T) 10 They are Your servants and Your people. You redeemed them by Your great power and strong hand.(U) 11 Please, Lord, let Your ear be attentive(V) to the prayer of Your servant and to that of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success today,(W) and have compassion on him in the presence of this man.[e](X)
At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.(Y)
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 1:1 = November–December
- Nehemiah 1:1 Artaxerxes reigned 465-425 b.c.
- Nehemiah 1:6 Lit sins of the Israelites
- Nehemiah 1:9 Lit skies
- Nehemiah 1:11 = the king
Nehemiah 1
New Living Translation
1 These are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.
Nehemiah’s Concern for Jerusalem
In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign,[a] I was at the fortress of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I said,
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth,[b] I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me.[c] Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”
In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Hebrew In the month of Kislev of the twentieth year. A number of dates in the book of Nehemiah can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Persian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred within the months of November and December 446 B.c. The twentieth year probably refers to the reign of King Artaxerxes I; compare 2:1; 5:14.
- 1:9 Hebrew of the heavens.
- 1:11 Hebrew today in the sight of this man.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
