1
And it was done in the month of Nisan, that is, April, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, the king, and wine was before him, and I took up the wine, and I gave it to the king, and I was as languishing before his face.
2
And the king said to me, Why is thy cheer sorry, or heavy, since I see not thee sick? This is not without cause; but I know not what evil is in thine heart. And I dreaded full greatly; (And the king said to me, Why is thy face so sad? for I see that thou art not sick. This is not without a cause; but I do not know what the problem is in thy heart. And I greatly feared;)
3
and I said to the king, King, live thou (into) without end; why should not my cheer mourn? for the city of the house of the sepulchres of my father[s] is deserted, either forsaken, and the gates thereof be burnt with fire. (and I said to the king, O king, may thou live forevermore; but why should my face not look sad? for the city of the house of my forefathers? graves, or tombs, is deserted, and its gates be burned down.)
4
And the king said to me, For what thing askest thou? And I prayed (to the) God of heaven,
5
and I said to the king, If it seemeth good to the king, and if it pleaseth thy servants which be before thy face, I beseech thee, that thou send me into Judah, to the city of the sepulchre(s) of my father(s), and I shall build it (again). (and I said to the king, If it seemeth good to the king, and if thy servant who is before thy face pleaseth thee, I beseech thee, that thou send me to Judah, to the city of my forefathers? graves, and I shall rebuild it.)
6
And the king said to me, and the queen sat beside him, Unto what time shall thy way be, and when shalt thou turn again? And it pleased to the king, and he sent me forth, and I set to the king a time of coming again; (And the king said to me, as the queen sat beside him, How long shalt thy be away, and when shalt thou return? And so it pleased the king, and he sent me forth, and I set a time when I would return to the king;)
7
and I said to the king, If it seemeth good to the king, give he epistles, or letters, to me to the dukes of the country beyond the flood, that they lead me over, till I come into Judah; (and I said to the king, If it seemeth good to the king, let him give me letters to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, with orders to help me get to Judah;)
8
and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he give trees to me, that I may cover (with it) the gates of the tower of the house, and of the wall of the city, and the house, into which I shall enter. And the king gave (the letters) to me, by the good hand of my God, (that was) with me. (and also a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forests, ordering him to give me wood, or timber, so that I can make beams for the gates of the stronghold, or the fortress, and for the city wall, and for the house in which I shall live. And the king gave me the letters, by the good hand of my God, who was with me.)