Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed (A)to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” And the king said to me ((B)the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me (C)when I had given him a time. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me (D)to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of (E)the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, (F)for the good hand of my God was upon me.

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The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”

With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.

I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River,[a] instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:7 Hebrew the province beyond the river; also in 2:9.