Hebrew Names Version HNV
Young's Literal Translation YLT
1 It happened in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artachshasta the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been [before] sad in his presence.
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And it cometh to pass, in the month of Nisan, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, wine [is] before him, and I lift up the wine, and give to the king, and I had not been sad before him;
2 The king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid.
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and the king saith to me, `Wherefore [is] thy face sad, and thou not sick? this is nothing except sadness of heart;' and I fear very much,
3 I said to the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and the gates of it are consumed with fire?
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and say to the king, `Let the king to the age live! wherefore should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of the graves of my fathers, [is] a waste, and its gates have been consumed with fire?'
4 Then the king said to me, For what do you make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
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And the king saith to me, `For what art thou seeking?' and I pray unto the God of the heavens,
5 I said to the king, If it please the king, and if your servant have found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Yehudah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may build it.
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and say to the king, `If to the king [it be] good, and if thy servant be pleasing before thee, that thou send me unto Judah, unto the city of the graves of my fathers, and I built it.'
6 The king said to me (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall your journey be? and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
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And the king saith to me (and the queen is sitting near him), `How long is thy journey? and when dost thou return?' and it is good before the king, and he sendeth me away, and I set to him a time.
7 Moreover I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Yehudah;
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And I say to the king, `If to the king [it be] good, letters let be given to me for the governors beyond the River, that they let me pass over till that I come in unto Judah:
8 and a letter to Asaf the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertains to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God on me.
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and a letter unto Asaph, keeper of the paradise that the king hath, that he give to me trees for beams [for] the gates of the palace that the house hath, and for the wall of the city, and for the house into which I enter;' and the king giveth to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.
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And I come in unto the governors beyond the River, and give to them the letters of the king; and the king sendeth with me heads of a force, and horsemen;
10 When Sanvallat the Horonite, and Toviyah the servant, the `Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, because a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Yisra'el.
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and Sanballat the Horonite heareth, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and it is evil to them -- a great evil -- that a man hath come in to seek good for the sons of Israel.
11 So I came to Yerushalayim, and was there three days.
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And I come in unto Jerusalem, and I am there three days,
12 I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God put into my heart to do for Yerushalayim; neither was there any animal with me, except the animal that I rode on.
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and I rise by night, I and a few men with me, and have not declared to a man what my God is giving unto my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there is no beast with me except the beast on which I am riding.
13 I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the jackal's well, and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Yerushalayim, which were broken down, and the gates of it were consumed with fire.
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And I go out through the gate of the valley by night, and unto the front of the fountain of the dragon, and unto the gate of the dunghill, and I am measuring about the walls of Jerusalem, that are broken down, and its gates consumed with fire.
14 Then I went on to the spring gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass.
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And I pass over unto the gate of the fountain, and unto the pool of the king, and there is no place for the beast under me to pass over,
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.
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and I am going up through the brook by night, and am measuring about the wall, and turn back, and come in through the gate of the valley, and turn back.
16 The rulers didn't know where I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Yehudim, nor to the Kohanim, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work.
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And the prefects have not known whither I have gone, and what I am doing; and to the Jews, and to the priests, and to the freemen, and to the prefects, and to the rest of those doing the work, hitherto I have not declared [it];
17 Then said I to them, You see the evil case that we are in, how Yerushalayim lies waste, and the gates of it are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Yerushalayim, that we be no more a reproach.
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and I say unto them, `Ye are seeing the evil that we are in, in that Jerusalem [is] waste, and its gates have been burnt with fire; come and we build the wall of Jerusalem, and we are not any more a reproach.'
18 I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. They said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good [work].
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And I declare to them the hand of my God that is good upon me, and also the words of the king that he said to me, and they say, `Let us rise, and we have built;' and they strengthen their hands for good.
19 But when Sanvallat the Horonite, and Toviyah the servant, the `Ammonite, and Geshem the `Arvian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that you do? will you rebel against the king?
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And Sanballat the Horonite heareth, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, and they mock at us, and despise us, and say, `What [is] this thing that ye are doing? against the king are ye rebelling?'
20 Then answered I them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Yerushalayim.
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And I return them word, and say to them, `The God of the heavens -- He doth give prosperity to us, and we His servants rise and have built; and to you there is no portion, and right, and memorial in Jerusalem.'
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.