Nehemiah 2
2:1And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that the wine was before him. And I took the wine and gave it to the king, and there was no other before him.
2:2And the king said to me, Why is your face in a sorry state, and you are not content? For is this not unless there is a sorrowful heart. And I was afraid exceedingly much.
2:3And I said to the king, O king, Live into the eon! Why should not my face be sorry, for the city, the house of the sepulchres of my fathers, was made desolate, and its gates were devoured by fire?
2:4And the king said to me, For what is this you seek? And I prayed to the lord God of heaven.
2:5And I said to the king, If it be upon the king for good, and if your servant shall seem good before you, so as to send him to Judah, to the city of the sepulchres of my fathers, then I will rebuild it.
2:6And the king said to me, and his concubine sitting next to him, For how long will you be going, and when will you return? And it was good before the king. And he sent me, and I gave to him a confirmation.
2:7And I said to the king, If it be upon the king for good, let him give to me letters to the chief rulers on the other side of the river! so as to allow me to pass until I come unto Judah;
2:8and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the garden, which is to the king, so as to give to me wood to roof the gates of the palace of the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house, for which I shall enter unto it. And the king gave to me by the good hand of God upon me.
2:9And I came to the chief rulers on the other side of the river, and I gave to them the letters of the king. And the king sent with me chiefs of the force, and horsemen.
2:10And Sanballat the Horonite heard of it, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and it was a bad thing to them that it happened. And they were grieved that a man comes to seek good to the sons of Israel.
2:11And I came unto Jerusalem, and I was there three days.
2:12And I rose up at night, I and a few men with me. And I did not report to a man, for God put it into my heart to do this with Jerusalem. And there is no beast with me, except the beast which I mounted upon it.
2:13And I went forth through the gate of Gai at night to the mouth of the spring of the serpent, and to the dung gate. And I was studying the walls of Jerusalem, the ones being torn down, and her gates, the ones having been consumed by fire.
2:14And I went by the gate of the fountain, and into the pool of the king. And there was no place for the beast underneath me to pass.
2:15And I was ascending by the rushing stream at night. And I was studying the wall, and I was at the gate of the ravine, and I returned.
2:16And the ones guarding did not know why I went, and what I was doing. And to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the important ones, and to the commandants, and to the rest of the ones doing the works until then, I did not report.
2:17Then I said to them, You see this wickedness in which we are in it, how Jerusalem is desolate, and its gates were given to fire. Come, and let us build throughout the wall of Jerusalem! and we shall not be any longer for scorn.
2:18And I reported to them the hand of God which is good upon me, and the words of the king which he spoke to me. And they said, Let us arise and build! And their hands were fortified for good.
2:19And Sanaballat the Horonite heard, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab. And they laughed out loud at us, and they disdained us, and they said, What is this thing which you are doing? or is it that you are defecting against the king?
2:20And I returned to them a word, and I said to them, The God of heaven, he shall prosper the way for us. And we his servants are pure, and we shall arise and build, and to you there is no portion, nor judicial right, nor a memorial in Jerusalem.