1
And it
came about in the
month Nisan, in the
twentieth year of
King Artaxerxes, that
wine was
before him, and I
took up the
wine and
gave it to the
king. Now I had not
been sad in his
presence.
]a.T.s;v.x;T.r;a.l ~yir.f,[ t;n.v !'syin v,d{x.B yih.y;w ? h'n.T,a'w !Iy;Y;h -t,a a'F,a'w wy'n'p.l !Iy;y .$,l,M;h ? wy'n'p.l [;r yityIy'h -a{l.w .$,l,M;l
2
So the
king said to me,
"Why is your
face sad though you are not
sick?
This is
nothing but
sadness of
heart." Then I was
very much afraid.
h'T;a.w ~yi['r '$y,n'P ;[.WD;m .$,l,M;h yil r,ma{Y;w ? a'ryia'w bel ;[{r ~ia -yiK h,z !yea h,lw{x '$.nyea ? d{a.m heB.r;h
3
I
said to the
king, "Let the
king live forever.
Why should my
face not be
sad when the
city, the
place of my
fathers' tombs, lies
desolate and its
gates have been
consumed by
fire?"
;[.WD;m h,y.xIy ~'lw{[.l .$,l,M;h .$,l,M;l r;m{a'w ? tw{r.biq -tyeB ryi['h r,v]a y;n'p .W[.rey -a{l ? vea'b .Wl.KUa 'hy,r'[.v.W h'ber]x y;t{b]a<01'>
4
Then the
king said to me,
"What would you
request?" So I
prayed to the
God of
heaven.
veQ;b.m h'T;a h,Z -h;m -l;[ .$,l,M;h yil r,ma{Y;w ? ~Iy'm'V;h yeh{l/a -l,a leL;P.t,a'w
5
I
said to the
king,
"If it
please the
king, and
if your
servant has
found favor before you,
send me to
Judah, to the
city of my
fathers' tombs, that I may
rebuild it."
b;jyIy -mia.w bw{j .$,l,M;h -l;[ -mia .$,l,M;l r;m{a'w ? h'd.Wh.y -l,a yinex'l.viT r,v]a '$y,n'p.l '$.D.b;[ ? h'N,n.b,a.w<01'> y;t{b]a tw{r.biq ryi[ -l,a
6
Then the
king said to me, the
queen sitting beside him,
"How long * will your
journey be, and
when will you
return?" So it
pleased the
king to
send me, and I
gave him a
definite time.
w{l.c,a<0681)> t,b,vw{y l;geV;h.w .$,l,M;h yil r,ma{Y;wlgv ? b;jyiY;w b.Wv'T y;t'm.W '$]k'l]h;m h,y.hIy y;t'm -d;[ ? !'m.z< w{l h'n.T,a'w yinex'l.viY;w .$,l,M;h -yen.pil
7
And I
said to the
king,
"If it
please the
king, let
letters be
given me for the
governors of the provinces
beyond the
River, that they may allow me to
pass through until * I
come to
Judah,
tw{r.Gia bw{j .$,l,M;h -l;[ -mia .$,l,M;l r;mw{a'w ? r,v]a r'h'N;h r,be[ tw{w]x;P -l;[ yil -.Wn.TIy ? h'd.Wh.y -l,a aw{b'a -r,v]a d;[ yin.Wryib][;y
8
and a
letter to
Asaph the
keeper of the
king's forest, that he may
give me
timber to
make beams for the
gates of the
fortress which is by the
temple, for the
wall of the
city and for the
house to
which I will
go." And the
king granted them to me because the
good hand of my
God was on me.
.$,l,M;l r,v]a seD.r;P;h rem{v @'s'a -l,a t,r,Gia.w ? yer][;v -t,a tw{r'q.l ~yice[ yil -n,TIy r,v]a ? tIy;B;l.w ryi['h t;mw{x.l.W tIy;B;l -r,v]a h'ryiB;h ? y;h{l/a -d;y.K .$,l,M;h yil -n,TiY;w wy'lea aw{b'a -r,v]a ? y'l'[ h'bw{J;h
9
Then I
came to the
governors of the provinces
beyond the
River and
gave them the
king's letters. Now the
king had
sent with me
officers of the
army and
horsemen.
h'n.T,a'w r'h'N;h r,be[ ]tw{w]x;P -l,a aw{b'a'w ? .$,l,M;h yiMi[ x;l.viY;w .$,l,M;h tw{r.Gia tea ~,h'l ? ~yiv'r'p.W lIy;x yer'f
10
When
Sanballat the
Horonite and
Tobiah the
Ammonite official heard about it, it was
very * displeasing to them that
someone had
come to
seek the
welfare of the
sons of
Israel.
yin{M;['h d,b,['h h'Yibw{j.w yin{r{x;h j;L;b.n;s [;m.viY;w ? veQ;b.l ~'d'a a'B -r,v]a h'l{d.g h'['r ~,h'l [;reY;w ? lea'r.fIy yen.bil h'bw{j
11
So I
came to
Jerusalem and was
there three days.
~yim'y ~'v -yih/a'w ~i'l'v.Wr.y -l,a aw{b'a'w ? h'v{l.v
12
And I
arose in the
night, I and a
few men with me. I did not
tell anyone what my
God was
putting into my
mind to
do for
Jerusalem and
there was
no animal with me
except * the
animal on
which I was
riding.
yiT.d;Gih -a{l.w yiMi[ j;[.m ~yiv'n]a;w yin]a h'l.y;l ~.Wq'a'w ? tw{f][;l yiBil -l,a !et{n y;h{l/a h'm ~'d'a.l ? h'meh.B;h -mia yiK yiMi[ !yea h'meh.b.W ~i'l'v.Wryil ? H'B bek{r yin]a r,v]a
13
So I
went out at
night by the
Valley Gate in the
direction of the
Dragon's Well and on to the
Refuse Gate,
inspecting the
walls of
Jerusalem which were
broken down and its
gates which were
consumed by
fire.
yen.P -l,a.w h'l.y;l ay;G;h -r;[;v.b h'a.cea'w ? reb{f yih/a'w t{P.v;a'h r;[;v -l,a.w !yiN;T;h !ye[ ? 'hy,r'[.v.W ~yic'wr{p.m;h -r,v]a ~i;l'v.Wr.y t{mw{x.B ? vea'b .Wl.KUa
14
Then I
passed on to the
Fountain Gate and the
King's Pool, but
there was
no place for my
mount to
pass.
.$,l,M;h t;ker.B -l,a.w !Iy;['h r;[;v -l,a r{b/[,a'w ? y'T.x;T r{b][;l h'meh.B;l ~w{q'm -nyea.w
15
So I
went up at
night by the
ravine and
inspected the
wall. Then I
entered the
Valley Gate again and
returned.
h'mw{x;B reb{f yih/a'w h'l.y;l l;x;N;b h,l{[ yih/a'w ? b.Wv'a'w a.y;G;h r;[;v.B aw{b'a'w b.Wv'a'w
16
The
officials did not
know where I had
gone or
what I had
done;
nor had I as
yet told the
Jews, the
priests, the
nobles, the
officials or the
rest who
did the
work.
yin]a h'm.W yiT.k;l'h h'n'a .W[.d'y a{l ~yin'g.S;h.w ? ~yin'g.S;l.w ~yir{x;l.w ~yin]h{K;l.w ~yid.Wh.Y;l.w h,f{[ ? yiT.d;Gih a{l !eK -d;[ h'ka'l.M;h hef{[ r,t,y.l.W
17
Then I
said to them, "You
see the
bad situation we are in, that
Jerusalem is
desolate and its
gates burned by
fire.
Come, let us
rebuild the
wall of
Jerusalem so that we will
no longer be a
reproach."
.Wn.x;n]a r,v]a h'['r'h ~yia{r ~,T;a ~,hel]a r;mw{a'w ? .Wt.Cin 'hy,r'[.v.W h'ber]x ~i;l'v.Wr.y r,v]a H'b ? h,y.hin -a{l.w ~i;l'v.Wr.y t;mw{x -t,a h,n.bin.w .Wk.l vea'b ? h'P.r,x dw{[
18
I
told them
how the
hand of my
God had been
favorable to me and
also about the
king's words which he had
spoken to me. Then they
said, "Let us
arise and
build." So they
put their
hands to the
good work.
ayih -r,v]a y;h{l/a d;y -t,a ~,h'l dyiG;a'w ? yil -r;m'a r,v]a .$,l,M;h yer.biD -p;a.w y;l'[ h'bw{j ? ~,hyed.y .Wq.Z;x.y;w .Wnyin'b.W ~.Wq'n .Wr.ma{Y;w ? h'bw{J;l
19
But when
Sanballat the
Horonite and
Tobiah the
Ammonite official, and
Geshem the
Arab heard it, they
mocked us and
despised us and
said,
"What is
this thing you are
doing? Are you
rebelling against the
king?"
yinw{M;['h d,b,['h h'Yib{j.w yin{r{x;h j;L;b.n;s [;m.viY;w ? .Wnyel'[ .Wz.biY;w .Wn'l .Wgi[.l;Y;w yib.r;['h ~,v,g.w ? ~yif{[ ~,T;a r,v]a h,Z;h r'b'D;h -h'm .Wr.ma{Y;w ? ~yid.r{m ~,T;a .$,l,M;h l;[;h
20
So I
answered them and
said to them, "The
God of
heaven will
give us
success; therefore we His
servants will
arise and
build, but you
have no portion,
right or
memorial in
Jerusalem."
~Iy;m'V;h yeh{l/a ~,h'l r;mw{a'w r'b'D ~'tw{a byiv'a'w ? ~.Wq'n wy'd'b][ .Wn.x;n]a;w .Wn'l ;xyil.c;y a.Wh ? !w{r'Kiz.w h'q'd.c.W q,lex -nyea ~,k'l.w .Wnyin'b.W ? ~i'l'v.WryiB