Nehemiah 2:1-3

Evangelical Heritage Version

Nehemiah Receives a Commission From Artaxerxes

2 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,^[a] wine was being served to the king, and I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, ² so the king said to me, “Why do you look sad, since you are not sick? This must be sadness in your heart.”

Then I was very much afraid. ³ I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place of my ancestors’ tombs, lies in ruins, and its gates have been consumed by fire?”