Nehemiah 2:1-3

Lexham English Bible

Nehemiah Sent

2 It happened in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. And I had never been sad before the king. ² So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” And I was very much afraid. ³ I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad when the city of my ancestors’^[a] burial site^[b] is ruined and her gates are consumed by fire?”