Nehemiah 2:1-3
New Living Translation
Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem
2 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan,[a] during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”
Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
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- 2:1 Hebrew In the month of Nisan. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred within the months of April and May 445 B.c.
Nehemiah 2:1-3
New American Standard Bible
Nehemiah’s Prayer Answered
2 And it came about in the month Nisan, (A)in the twentieth year of King (B)Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and (C)I picked up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? (D)This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 And I said to the king, “(E)May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad (F)when the city, the [a]site of my fathers’ tombs, is desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”
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- Nehemiah 2:3 Lit house
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
