Nehemiae 2

VULGATA	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Factum est autem in mense Nisan, anno vigesimo Artaxerxis regis : et vinum erat ante eum, et levavi vinum, et dedi regi : et eram quasi languidus ante faciem ejus.	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 Dixitque mihi rex : Quare vultus tuus tristis est, cum te ægrotum non videam ? non est hoc frustra, sed malum nescio quod in corde tuo est. Et timui valde, ac nimis :	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 et dixi regi : Rex, in æternum vive : quare non mœreat vultus meus, quia civitas domus sepulchrorum patris mei deserta est, et portæ ejus combustæ sunt igni ?	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 Et ait mihi rex : Pro qua re postulas ? Et oravi Deum cæli,	4 And the king said to me: “What would you request?” And I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 et dixi ad regem : Si videtur regi bonum, et si placet servus tuus ante faciem tuam, ut mittas me in Judæam ad civitatem sepulchri patris mei, et ædificabo eam.	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 Dixitque mihi rex, et regina quæ sedebat juxta eum : Usque ad quod tempus erit iter tuum, et quando reverteris ? Et placuit ante vultum regis, et misit me : et constitui ei tempus.	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 Et dixi regi : Si regi videtur bonum, epistolas det mihi ad duces regionis trans flumen, ut traducant me, donec veniam in Judæam :	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 et epistolam ad Asaph custodem saltus regis, ut det mihi ligna, ut tegere possim portas turris domus, et muros civitatis, et domum quam ingressus fuero. Et dedit mihi rex juxta manum Dei mei bonam mecum.	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 Et veni ad duces regionis trans flumen, dedique eis epistolas regis. Miserat autem rex mecum principes militum, et equites.	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 Et audierunt Sanaballat Horonites, et Tobias servus Ammanites : et contristati sunt afflictione magna, quod venisset homo qui quæreret prosperitatem filiorum Israël.	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 Et veni Jerusalem, et eram ibi tribus diebus.	11 And I arrived at Jerusalem, and I was there for three days.
12 Et surrexi nocte ego, et viri pauci mecum, et non indicavi cuiquam quid Deus dedisset in corde meo ut facerem in Jerusalem : et jumentum non erat mecum, nisi animal cui sedebam.	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 Et egressus sum per portam vallis nocte, et ante fontem draconis, et ad portam stercoris, et considerabam murum Jerusalem dissipatum, et portas ejus consumptas igni.	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 Et transivi ad portam fontis, et ad aquæductum regis, et non erat locus jumento cui sedebam ut transiret.	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 Et ascendi per torrentem nocte, et considerabam murum, et reversus veni ad portam vallis, et redii.	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 Magistratus autem nesciebant quo abiissem, aut quid ego facerem : sed et Judæis, et sacerdotibus, et optimatibus, et magistratibus, et reliquis qui faciebant opus, usque ad id loci nihil indicaveram.	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 Et dixi eis : Vos nostis afflictionem in qua sumus : quia Jerusalem deserta est, et portæ ejus consumptæ sunt igni : venite, et ædificemus muros Jerusalem, et non simus ultra opprobrium.	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 Et indicavi eis manum Dei mei, quod esset bona mecum, et verba regis quæ locutus esset mihi, et aio : Surgamus, et ædificemus. Et confortatæ sunt manus eorum in bono.	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 Audierunt autem Sanaballat Horonites, et Tobias servus Ammanites, et Gosem Arabs, et subsannaverunt nos, et despexerunt, dixeruntque : Quæ est hæc res quam facitis ? numquid contra regem vos rebellatis ?	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 Et reddidi eis sermonem, dixique ad eos : Deus cæli ipse nos juvat, et nos servi ejus sumus : surgamus et ædificemus : vobis autem non est pars, et justitia, et memoria 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.”