Nehemiah 1:1-2

Contemporary English Version

Nehemiah's Prayer

1 I am Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and in this book I tell what I have done.

During the month of Chislev^[a] in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes^[b] ruled Persia, I was in his fortress city of Susa,^[c] ²when my brother Hanani came with some men from Judah. So I asked them about the Jews who had escaped^[d] from being captives in Babylonia. I also asked them about the city of Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

1.1 Chislev: The ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-November to mid-December.
1.1 Artaxerxes: Probably Artaxerxes I, who ruled Persia 465–425 b.c.
1.1 Susa: Capital of Elam Province, the winter home of Persian kings.
1.2 escaped: Or “returned.”