Nehemiah 2:4-8
Expanded Bible
4 Then the king said to me, “What do you ·want [seek; request]?”
·First [Then; So] I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I answered the king, “If ·you are willing [it pleases/is good to you] and if I have ·pleased you [found favor in your sight], send me to Judah, to the city ·where my ancestors are buried [of my fathers’ tombs; C Jerusalem] so I can rebuild it.”
6 The queen was sitting next to the king. He asked me, “How long will your ·trip [journey] take, and when will you get back?” It ·pleased [L was good to] the king to send me, so I set a time.
7 I also said to him, “If ·you are willing [it pleases/is good to you], give me letters for the governors of ·Trans-Euphrates [C provinces west of the Euphrates River]. Tell them to let me pass safely through their lands ·on my way to [until I reach] Judah. 8 And may I have a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, telling him to give me timber? I will need it to make ·boards [beams] for the gates of the ·palace [or fortress], which is by the ·Temple [L house], and for the city wall, and for the house in which I will live.” So the king ·gave [granted] me the letters, because ·God was showing kindness to me [L the gracious/good hand of God was on me].
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Nehemiah 2:4-8
Amplified Bible
4 The king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your presence, [I ask] that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, so that I may rebuild it.” 6 The king, beside whom the queen was sitting, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time [for my return]. 7 Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the provinces beyond the [Euphrates] River, so that they will allow me to pass through until I reach Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to construct beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, and for the city wall and for the house which I will occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
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