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¹ THE words of Nehemiah the son of Helakiah. And it came to pass in the month of Canun, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,² That Hanan, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the remnant of the Jews who were left of the captivity and also concerning Jerusalem.³ And these men whom I asked said to me, The men who had escaped the captivity, behold, they are there in the city, dwelling in misery and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.⁴ When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for many days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

⁵ And I said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the mighty, the great and revered God, who keeps truth and grace for those who love him and keep his commandments;⁶ Let thine eyes now be open, and thine ears attentive, to hear the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and I confess the sins of the children of Israel which they have sinned against thee; moreover, both I and my fathers house have sinned before thee.⁷ And we have not kept all the commandments nor the statutes nor the ordinances which thou didst command thy servant Moses.⁸ Remember now all the commandments which thou didst command thy servant Moses, saying, If you transgress against me, I will scatter you among the nations;⁹ But if you turn to me and keep my laws and do them, then though your scattered ones were in the uttermost part of heaven, vet I will gather you from thence and bring you to the place that I have chosen to set my name there.¹⁰ Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast saved by thy great power and by thy strong hand.¹¹ O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant and to the prayer of those who are willing to worship thy name; and save thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was cup hearer to the king.