Nehemiah’s Prayer

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

In the month of Kislev^(A) in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,^(B)

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah^(A) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.^(B)

10 ^[a]Those who sealed it were:

² At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa,^(A)

² In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa^(A) in the province of Elam;^(B) in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal.

⁷ Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.^(A)

¹⁵ The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.^(A) The king and Haman sat down to drink,^(B) but the city of Susa was bewildered.^(C)

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

2 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,^(A) when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before,

⁹ Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin^(A) had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain.