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17 He will listen to the prayers of the destitute.
    He will not reject their pleas.

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17 He will respond to the prayer(A) of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

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listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!

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let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear(A) the prayer(B) your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess(C) the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.

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24 For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
    He has not turned his back on them,
    but has listened to their cries for help.

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24 For he has not despised(A) or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;(B)
he has not hidden his face(C) from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.(D)

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So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.

“Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. 10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.

“So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. 12 You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. 13 Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. 14 Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.

15 “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness. 16 In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.

17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.

18 “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.

19 “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”

Gabriel’s Message about the Anointed One

20 I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice.

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So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting,(A) and in sackcloth and ashes.(B)

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:(C)

“Lord, the great and awesome God,(D) who keeps his covenant of love(E) with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned(F) and done wrong.(G) We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away(H) from your commands and laws.(I) We have not listened(J) to your servants the prophets,(K) who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors,(L) and to all the people of the land.

“Lord, you are righteous,(M) but this day we are covered with shame(N)—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered(O) us because of our unfaithfulness(P) to you.(Q) We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you.(R) The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving,(S) even though we have rebelled against him;(T) 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.(U) 11 All Israel has transgressed(V) your law(W) and turned away, refusing to obey you.

“Therefore the curses(X) and sworn judgments(Y) written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned(Z) against you. 12 You have fulfilled(AA) the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster.(AB) Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like(AC) what has been done to Jerusalem.(AD) 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord(AE) our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.(AF) 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster(AG) on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does;(AH) yet we have not obeyed him.(AI)

15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand(AJ) and who made for yourself a name(AK) that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts,(AL) turn away(AM) your anger and your wrath(AN) from Jerusalem,(AO) your city, your holy hill.(AP) Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn(AQ) to all those around us.

17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor(AR) on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear,(AS) our God, and hear;(AT) open your eyes and see(AU) the desolation of the city that bears your Name.(AV) We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.(AW) 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive!(AX) Lord, hear and act! For your sake,(AY) my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

The Seventy “Sevens”

20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing(AZ) my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill(BA) 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel,(BB) the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.(BC)

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11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

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11 For I know the plans(A) I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper(B) you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.(C) 12 Then you will call(D) on me and come and pray(E) to me, and I will listen(F) to you. 13 You will seek(G) me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.(H) 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back(I) from captivity.[a] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”(J)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 29:14 Or will restore your fortunes

12 He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
    he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.

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12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.

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18 But the needy will not be ignored forever;
    the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

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18 But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope(A) of the afflicted(B) will never perish.

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11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me.[a] Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”

In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem

Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan,[b] during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 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, 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.”

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,[c] 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.

Footnotes

  1. 1:11 Hebrew today in the sight of this man.
  2. 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.
  3. 2:7 Hebrew the province beyond the river; also in 2:9.

11 Lord, let your ear be attentive(A) to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor(B) in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer(C) to the king.

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,(D) when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever!(E) Why should my face not look sad when the city(F) where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?(G)

The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Then the king(H), with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates,(I) so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel(J) by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me,(K) the king granted my requests.(L)

36 “Indeed, the Lord will give justice to his people,
    and he will change his mind about[a] his servants,
when he sees their strength is gone
    and no one is left, slave or free.

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Footnotes

  1. 32:36 Or will take revenge for.

36 The Lord will vindicate his people(A)
    and relent(B) concerning his servants(C)
when he sees their strength is gone
    and no one is left, slave(D) or free.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader

29 But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

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29 But if from there you seek(A) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart(B) and with all your soul.(C)

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23 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
    and make their bodies shake continually.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 69:23 Greek version reads and let their backs be bent forever. Compare Rom 11:10.

23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
    and their backs be bent forever.(A)

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