Nehemiah 1
EasyEnglish Bible
Nehemiah prays
1 These are the words of Nehemiah, Hacaliah's son.
It was the month Kislev. This was when King Artaxerxes had ruled for 20 years. I was in the big city of Susa. 2 Hanani, my brother, and some other men arrived from Judah. I asked them for news of the Jews who had returned there from exile in Babylon. I asked them for news about Jerusalem. 3 They told me, ‘The Jews who returned to Judah are in much trouble. The walls of the city still have lots of holes in them. Fire has burned the city's gates down to the ground. So the people are very ashamed.’
4 After they told me this, I sat down and I wept. I was very sad for many days. I did not eat or drink anything and I prayed to God.
5 I prayed, ‘Lord, God of heaven, you are great and powerful.[a] You always continue to love your people, as you have promised to do. You are kind to those people who love you and obey your commands. 6 Please listen to my prayer. I am your servant. I am praying in the day and in the night on behalf of your servants, the Israelites. I agree that we have all done wrong things. That includes me and my family. We have not obeyed you. 7 We have done wicked things against you. We have not obeyed the commands, the laws and the rules that you gave to your servant Moses.[b]
8 Remember what you told your servant, Moses. You told him, “If the Israelites turn away from me, I will make them live among foreign people in many different places. 9 But if they return to me and they obey my commands, I will be kind to them. I will bring them back together again from all the different places where they are living. Even if they live far away, I will find them. I will bring them to the place that I have chosen to give honour to my name.”
10 Lord, these are your people and your servants. You used your great power and strength to rescue them. 11 Please listen to my prayer, my Lord. Hear the prayers of your people who love to respect your name. Please cause the king to be kind to me. May he give me what I ask for.’
I was the king's cupbearer.[c]
Footnotes
- 1:5 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
- 1:7 See Exodus 20.
- 1:11 A cupbearer took care of the king's wine. He would have to make sure that the wine was safe for the king to drink. As cupbearer, Nehemiah was an important servant of the king.
Nehemiah 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
Heading
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah.
The Problem
In the month of Kislev of the twentieth year, I was in Susa, the citadel.[a] 2 Hanani, one of my brothers,[b] came to me with men from Judah. I asked them about the remnant of the Jews, who had survived the captivity and had escaped from it, and about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “The survivors from the captivity who are there in the province are in great misery and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned.”
4 When I heard about these things, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of Heaven.[c] 5 I said:
Please, Lord, the God of Heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God, who preserves the covenant and faithfulness for those who love him and keep his commands: 6 Let your ear be attentive and your eyes be open as you hear the prayer of your servant today, which I am now praying before you day and night, concerning the Israelites, who are your servants. I am also confessing the sins of the people of Israel that we committed against you. I and my father’s house have also sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you, and we have not kept the commands, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances that you commanded Moses your servant.
8 Please remember the command you gave to Moses your servant when you said, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. 9 But when you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, even if you have been scattered to the end of heaven, from there I will gather them, and I will bring them to the place where I have chosen to make my name dwell.”[d] 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed with your great power and your mighty hand.
11 Please, my Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayers of your servants who are delighted to revere your name. Make your servant successful today, and give him mercy in this man’s presence.
I was cupbearer[e] to the king.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 1:1 Or fortress. The term often designates royal cities of the Persian Empire.
- Nehemiah 1:2 In Nehemiah brother can mean brother, relative, or associate.
- Nehemiah 1:4 The God of Heaven is a common name for the Lord in the books from the time of the Exile.
- Nehemiah 1:9 See Deuteronomy 30:1-5.
- Nehemiah 1:11 Cupbearer is a high, cabinet-level office, with responsibility for the king’s safety.
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