Nehemiah 2:4-8
Holman Christian Standard Bible
4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?”
So I prayed to the God of heaven(A) 5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried,[a](B) so that I may rebuild it.”(C)
6 The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time,(D) and it pleased the king to send me.
7 I also said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River,(E) so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.(F) 8 And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress,(G) the city wall, and the home where I will live.”[b](H) The king granted my requests, for I was graciously strengthened by my God.[c](I)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 2:5 Lit city, the house of the graves of my fathers,
- Nehemiah 2:8 Lit enter
- Nehemiah 2:8 Lit for the gracious hand of my God was on me
Nehemiah 2:4-8
Common English Bible
4 The king asked, “What is it that you need?”
I prayed to the God of heaven 5 and replied, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, please send me to Judah, to the city of my family’s graves so that I may rebuild it.”
6 With the queen sitting beside him, the king asked me, “How long will you be away and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I told him how long I would be gone.
7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may letters be given me addressed to the governors of the province Beyond the River to allow me to travel to Judah. 8 May the king also issue a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, directing him to supply me with timber for the beams of the temple fortress gates, for the city wall, and for the house in which I will live.”
The king gave me what I asked, for the gracious power of my God was with me.
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