Nehemiah 2

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, since I was in charge of the wine, I tookthe wine and offered it to the king. Now, he had never seen me looking depressed before.	1 Now it happened that, in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes, wine was before him; and I lifted up the wine, and I gave it to the king. And I was like someone languishing before his face.
2 So the king said to me, 'Why are you looking depressed? You are not sick! This must be a sadness ofthe heart.' Thoroughly alarmed by this,	2 And the king said to me: “Why is your expression sad, though you do not appear to be sick? This is not without cause, but some evil, I know not what, is in your heart.” And I was struck with an exceedingly great fear.
3 I said to the king, 'May the king live for ever! How can I not look depressed when the city where thetombs of my ancestors are lies in ruins and its gates have been burnt down?'	3 And I said to the king: “O king, live forever. Why should my expression not be mournful, since the city of the house of the sepulchers of my father is desolate, and its gates have been burned with fire?”
4 The king then said to me, 'What would you like me to do?' Praying to the God of heaven,	4 And the king said to me: “What would you request?” And I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 I said to the king, 'If the king approves and your servant enjoys your favour, send me to Judah, to thecity of the tombs of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.'	5 And I said to the king: “If it seems good to the king, and if your servant is pleasing before your face: that you would send me into Judea, to the city of the sepulcher of my father. And I will rebuild it.”
6 The king -- with the queen sitting beside him-said, 'How long wil your journey take, and when wil youcome back?' Once I had given him a definite time, the king approved my mission.	6 And the king said to me, with the queen who was sitting beside him: “Until what time will your journey be, and when will you return?” And it was pleasing before the countenance of the king, and so he sent me. And I established a time for him.
7 I then said to the king, 'If the king approves, may I be given orders for the governors of Transeuphratesto let me pass through on my way to Judah?	7 And I said to the king: “If it seems good to the king, may he give me letters to the governors of the region beyond the river, so that they may lead me through, until I arrive in Judea,
8 Also an order for Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, to supply me with timber for the beams of the gatesof the citadel of the Temple, for the city wal s and for the house which I am to occupy?' These the king grantedme because the kindly hand of my God was over me.	8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he may give me timber, in order that I may be able to cover the gates of the tower of the house, and the walls of the city, and the house that I will enter.” And the king granted to me in accord with the good hand of my God, who is with me.
9 When I reached the governors of Transeuphrates, I gave them the king's orders. The king had sent anescort of army officers and cavalry along with me.	9 And I went to the governors of the region beyond the river, and I gave them the letters of the king. Now the king had sent with me military leaders and horsemen.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the official of Ammon heard about this, they wereexceedingly displeased that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.	10 And Sanballat, a Horonite, and the servant Tobiah, an Ammonite, heard this. And they were saddened, with a great affliction, that a man had arrived who was seeking the prosperity of the sons of Israel.
11 And so I reached Jerusalem. After I had been there three days,	11 And I arrived at Jerusalem, and I was there for three days.
12 I got up during the night with a few other men -- I had not told anyone what my God had inspired me todo for Jerusalem -- taking no animal with me other than my own mount.	12 And I got up in the night, I and a few men with me. And I did not reveal to anyone what God had placed in my heart to do in Jerusalem. And there was no animal with me, except the animal on which I was sitting.
13 Under cover of dark I went out through the Val ey Gate towards the Dragon's Fountain as far as theDung Gate, and examined the wall of Jerusalem where it was broken down and its gates burnt out.	13 And I departed in the night through the gate of the valley, and before the fountain of the dragon, and toward the dung gate. And I considered the wall of Jerusalem, which was broken apart, and its gates, which had been consumed by fire.
14 I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but it was impassable to my mount.	14 And I continued on to the gate of the fountain, and to the aqueduct of the king. And there was no room for the beast on which I was sitting to pass through.
15 So I went up the Val ey in the dark, examining the wal ; I then went in again through the Val ey Gate,coming back	15 And so I climbed up in the night along the torrent, and I considered the wall. And turning back, I went by the gate of the valley, and I returned.
16 without the officials knowing where I had gone or what I had been doing. So far I had said nothing tothe Jews: neither to the priests, the nobles, the officials nor any other persons involved in the undertaking.	16 Now the magistrates did not know where I had gone, or what I had done. For I had revealed nothing, even to that point in time, to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the magistrates, or to the others who were doing the work.
17 I then said to them, 'You see what a sorry state we are in: Jerusalem is in ruins and its gates havebeen burnt down. Come on, we must rebuild the wal s of Jerusalem and put an end to our humiliating position!'	17 And so I said to them: “You know the affliction in which we are, because Jerusalem is desolate, and its gates have been consumed by fire. Come, and let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and let us no longer be in disgrace.”
18 And I told them how the kindly hand of my God had been over me, and the words which the king hadsaid to me. At this they said, 'Let us start building at once!' and they set their hands to the good work.	18 And I revealed to them how the hand of my God was with me for good, and the words of the king, which he had spoken to me. And I said: “Let us rise up, and build.” And their hands were strengthened for good.
19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the official of Ammon, and Geshem the Arab heard about this,they laughed at us and jeered. They said, 'What is this you are doing? Are you going to revolt against the king?'	19 But Sanballat, a Horonite, and the servant Tobiah, an Ammonite, and Geshem, an Arab, heard of it. And they ridiculed and disparaged us, and they said: “What is this thing that you are doing? Could you be rebelling against the king?”
20 But I gave them this answer, 'The God of heaven will grant us success and we, his servants, mean tostart building; as for you, you have neither share nor right nor memorial in Jerusalem.'	20 And I replied to them a word, and I said to them: “The God of heaven himself is helping us, and we are his servants. Let us rise up and build. But there is no portion, or justice, or remembrance in Jerusalem for you.”