Nehemiah 2:1

And it came to pass in the month Nisan; in the twentieth
year of Artaxerxes
It was still but in the twentieth year of his reign; for though Nisan or March was the first month of the year with the Jews, and from whence the reigns of their kings were dated {l}; yet, with other nations, Tisri or September was the beginning of the reigns of their kings ^F13; so that Chisleu or November being since, see ( Nehemiah 1:1 ) , it was no more in Nisan or March than the twentieth of the said king's reign, and was three or four months after Nehemiah had first heard of the distress of his people; which time he either purposely spent in fasting and prayer on that account, or until now his turn did not come about to exercise his office, in waiting upon the king as his cupbearer: but now it was

that wine was before him;
the king; it was brought and set in a proper place, from whence it might be taken for his use:

and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king;
according to Xenophon {n}, the cupbearer with the Persians and Medes used to take the wine out of the vessels into the cup, and pour some of it into their left hand, and sup it up, that, if there was any poison in it, the king might not be harmed, and then he delivered it to him upon three fingers {o}:

now I had not been before time sad in his presence;
but always pleasant and cheerful, so that the sadness of his countenance was the more taken notice of.