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¹ The words of Nehemiah the sonne of Hachaliah. And it came to passe in the moneth Chisleu, in the twentieth yeere, as I was in Shushan the palace; ² That Hanani, one of my brethren came, he and certaine men of Iudah, and I asked them concerning the Iewes that had escaped, which were left of the captiuitie, and concerning Ierusalem. ³ And they said vnto me, The remnant that are left of the captiuitie there in the prouince, are in great affliction and reproch: the wall of Ierusalem also is broken downe, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire. ⁴ And it came to passe when I heard these words, that I sate downe and wept, and mourned certaine dayes, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heauen,

⁵ And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heauen, the great and terrible God, that keepeth couenant and mercie for them that loue him, and obserue his commandements: ⁶ Let thine eare now be attentiue, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest heare the prayer of thy seruant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy seruants, and confesse the sinnes of the children of Israel, which wee haue sinned against thee: both I, and my fathers house haue sinned. ⁷ We haue dealt very corruptly against thee, and haue not kept the commandements, nor the statutes, nor the iudgements, which thou commandedst thy seruant Moses. ⁸ Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy seruant Moses, saying, If yee transgresse, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: ⁹ But if ye turne vnto me, and keepe my commandements, and doe them: though there were of you cast out vnto the vttermost part of the heauen, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them vnto the place that I haue chosen, to set my Name there. ¹⁰ Now these are thy seruants, and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine eare be attentiue to the prayer of thy seruant, and to the prayer of thy seruants, who desire to feare thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy seruant this day, and grant him mercie in the sight of this man. For I was the kings cup-bearer.