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Nehemiah 1
Legacy Standard Bible
Nehemiah 1
Legacy Standard Bible
Nehemiah Prays for the Sons of Israel
1 The words of (A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
Now it happened in (B)the month Chislev, (C)in the twentieth year—and I was in (D)Susa the [a]capitol— 2 that (E)Hanani, one of my brothers, and [b]some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and remain from the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the (F)province who remain from the captivity are in great calamity and (G)reproach, and (H)the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and (I)its gates are burned with fire.”
4 Now it happened that when I heard these words, (J)I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before (K)the God of heaven. 5 I said, “I beseech You, O [c]Yahweh, the God of heaven, (L)the great and fearsome God, (M)who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 (N)let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your slave which I am praying before You today, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your slaves, (O)confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; (P)I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 (Q)We have worked in utter destruction against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments (R)which You commanded Your [d]servant Moses. 8 Remember the word which You commanded Your [e]servant Moses, saying, ‘(S)If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 (T)but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been banished were at the ends of the sky, I (U)will gather them from there and will bring them (V)to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 10 (W)They are Your slaves and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, (X)may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your slave and the prayer of Your slaves who delight to fear Your name, and make Your slave successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”
Now I was the (Y)cupbearer to the king.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 1:1 Or palace, citadel
- Nehemiah 1:2 Lit he and some
- Nehemiah 1:5 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Nehemiah 1:7 Or slave, cf. 1:6; see Foreword, “The Terminology of Slave”
- Nehemiah 1:8 Or slave, cf. 1:6; see Foreword, “The Terminology of Slave”
Nehemiah 1
International Standard Version
Nehemiah 1
International Standard Version
Introduction
1 In this document, I,[a] Hacaliah’s son Nehemiah, recount[b] what occurred during the twentieth year of Artaxerxes.[c]
Background
In the month of Chislev,[d] while I was in Shushan at the palace, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, about those who had survived the Babylonian[e] captivity, and about Jerusalem.
3 They told me, “The survivors of the captivity there in the province are living in great distress and shame. Furthermore, the Jerusalem wall remains broken down and its gates have been burned by fire.”
Nehemiah’s Prayer
4 When I heard this, I sat down and cried, mourning for a number of days while I fasted and prayed in the presence of the God of Heaven. 5 I said, “Please, Lord, God of Heaven, the great and fearsome God who keeps the covenant, showing[f] gracious love to those who love you and keep your commands, 6 please turn your attention to observe carefully and listen to the prayer of your servant today that I am presenting to you day and night on behalf of your servants, the Israelis.
“I confess the sins that we Israelis have committed against you. Both I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have abandoned you by not keeping your commands, your ceremonies, and your judgments that you proscribed to your servant Moses. 8 Please remember what you spoke in commanding your servant Moses. You said,
‘If you rebel, I will scatter you among the nations[g] 9 but if you return to me, keeping my commands and doing them, even if your exiled people are in the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I have chosen to establish my Name.’[h]
10 These are your servants as well as your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
11 “And now, Lord, I ask you to listen to the prayer of your servant—and to the prayers of your servants who delight in revering your Name. I ask you, please prosper your servant today by granting him to receive favor from this man.”[i]
Now I was the king’s senior security advisor.[j]
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 1:1 Lit. The words of
- Nehemiah 1:1 The Heb. lacks recount
- Nehemiah 1:1 The Heb. lacks of Artaxerxes; cf. 2:1
- Nehemiah 1:1 I.e. about 445-444 BC
- Nehemiah 1:2 The Heb. lacks Babylonian
- Nehemiah 1:5 The Heb. lacks showing
- Nehemiah 1:8 Lit. people
- Nehemiah 1:9 Cf. Deut 30:1-5
- Nehemiah 1:11 I.e. King Artaxerxes
- Nehemiah 1:11 Lit. king’s cupbearer; a servant who tested the king’s food and beverages for poison; cf. Gen 41:9
Nehemiah 1
New International Version
Nehemiah 1
New International Version
Nehemiah’s Prayer
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:
In the month of Kislev(A) in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,(B) 2 Hanani,(C) one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant(D) that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.(E)”
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.(F) For some days I mourned and fasted(G) and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said:
“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God,(H) who keeps his covenant of love(I) with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear(J) the prayer(K) your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess(L) the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly(M) toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
8 “Remember(N) the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter(O) you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather(P) them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’(Q)
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.(R) 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive(S) to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor(T) in the presence of this man.”
I was cupbearer(U) to the king.
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
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International Standard Version (ISV) 
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