NE-1:1  The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came

to pass in the

month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the

palace,

NE-1:2  That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and [certain]

men of Judah;

and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which

were left of the

captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

NE-1:3  And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the

captivity

there in the province [are] in great affliction and reproach:

the wall of

Jerusalem also [is] broken down, and the gates thereof are

burned with fire.

NE-1:4  And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I

sat down and

wept, and mourned [certain] days, and fasted, and prayed before

the God of

heaven,

NE-1:5  And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the

great and terrible

God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and

observe his

commandments:

NE-1:6  Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open,

that thou mayest

hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now,

day and night,

for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of

the children

of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my

father's house

have sinned.

NE-1:7  We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not

kept the

commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou

commandedst thy

servant Moses.

NE-1:8  Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst

thy servant

Moses, saying, [If] ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad

among the

nations:

NE-1:9  But [if] ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and

do them;

though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the

heaven, [yet]

will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the

place that I have

chosen to set my name there.

NE-1:10  Now these [are] thy servants and thy people, whom thou

hast redeemed

by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

NE-1:11  O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive

to the prayer

of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to

fear thy

name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant

him mercy in

the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

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