Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

1 The words of ^(A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in ^(B)the month Chislev, ^(C)in the twentieth year, while I was in ^(D)Susa the ^[a]capitol, ² that ^(E)Hanani, one of my brothers, ^[b]and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped ^[c]and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The remnant there in the ^(F)province who survived the captivity are in great distress and ^(G)disgrace, and ^(H)the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^(I)its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴ Now 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, “Please, Lord God of heaven, ^(L)the great and awesome God, ^(M)who keeps the covenant and faithfulness 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 servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, ^(O)confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; ^(P)I and my father’s house have sinned. ^7 (Q)We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances ^(R)which You commanded Your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your 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 scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I ^(U)will gather them from there and bring them ^(V)to the place where I have chosen to have My name dwell.’ ^10 (W)They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. ¹¹ Please, Lord, ^(X)may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to ^[d]revere Your name, and please make Your servant successful today and grant him mercy before this man.”

Now I was the ^(Y)cupbearer to the king.

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

The First Seal: Conqueror on a White Horse

6 Then I saw when the ^(A)Lamb broke one of the ^(B)seven seals, and I heard one of the ^(C)four living creatures saying as with a ^(D)voice of thunder, “Come^[a]!” ² I looked, and behold, a ^(E)white horse, and the one who sat on it had a bow; and ^(F)a crown was given to him, and he went out ^(G)conquering and to conquer.

The Second Seal: War

³ When He broke the second seal, I heard the ^(H)second living creature saying, “Come^[b]!” ⁴ And another, ^(I)a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to ^(J)take peace from the earth, and that people would kill one another; and a large sword was given to him.

The Third Seal: Famine

⁵ When He broke the third seal, I heard the ^(K)third living creature saying, “Come^[c]!” I looked, and behold, a ^(L)black horse, and the one who sat on it had a ^(M)pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard something like a voice in the center of the ^(N)four living creatures saying, “A ^[d]quart of wheat for a ^[e]denarius, and three ^[f]quarts of barley for a ^[g]denarius; and ^(O)do not damage the oil and the wine.”

The Fourth Seal: Death

⁷ When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the ^(P)fourth living creature saying, “Come^[h]!” ⁸ I looked, and behold, ^[i]an ^(Q)ashen horse; and the one who sat on it had the name ^(R)Death, and ^(S)Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, ^(T)to kill with sword, and famine, and ^[j]plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.

The Fifth Seal: Martyrs

⁹ When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw ^(U)underneath the ^(V)altar the ^(W)souls of those who had been killed ^(X)because of the word of God, and because of the ^(Y)testimony which they had maintained; ¹⁰ and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “^(Z)How long, O ^[k](AA)Lord, ^(AB)holy and true, ^[l]will You refrain from ^(AC)judging and avenging our blood on ^(AD)those who live on the earth?” ¹¹ And a ^(AE)white robe was given to each of them; and they were told that they were to ^(AF)rest for a little while longer, ^(AG)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, was ^(AH)completed also.

The Sixth Seal: Terror

¹² And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great ^(AI)earthquake; and the ^(AJ)sun became as black as ^(AK)sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; ¹³ and ^(AL)the stars of the sky fell to the earth, ^(AM)as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. ^14 (AN)The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and ^(AO)every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then ^(AP)the kings of the earth and the eminent people, and the commanders and the wealthy and the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ and they *^(AQ)said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the ^[m]sight of Him ^(AR)who sits on the throne, and from the ^(AS)wrath of the Lamb; ¹⁷ for ^(AT)the great day of Their wrath has come, and ^(AU)who is able to stand?”