Old/New Testament
1 The Divrei Nechemyah ben Chachalyah. And it came to pass in the month Kislev, in the twentieth year [i.e., 445 B.C.E.], as I was in Shushan the capital [of Persia],
2 That Chanani, one of my achim [see 7:2], came, he and certain men, from Yehudah; and I asked them concerning the remnant of the Yehudim that had survived the Exile [the Golus], and concerning Yerushalayim.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that have survived the Exile [the Golus] there in the province are in ra’ah gedolah and reproach; the Chomat Yerushalayim also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with eish.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for several yamim, and did a tzom, and davened before Elohei HaShomayim,
5 And said, O Hashem Elohei HaShomayim, HaEl HaGadol vHaNora, that is shomer habrit vachesed for them that love Him and are shomer mitzvot over His commandments,
6 Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hear the tefillah of Thy eved, which I am davening before Thee now, yomam valailah, for the Bnei Yisroel Thy avadim, and mitvaddeh al chattot (confess the sins) of the Bnei Yisroel, which we have sinned against Thee. Both I and the Bais Avi have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not been shomer mitzvot, neither over the chukkim, nor the mishpatim, which Thou commandedst Moshe Thy eved.
8 Remember, the word that Thou commandedst Moshe Thy eved, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations,
9 But if ye make teshuvah and turn unto Me, and are shomer over My mitzvot, and do them; though there were of you those exiled unto the uttermost part of HaShomayim, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them unto the place [i.e., Yerushalayim] that I have chosen to make dwell Shmi (My Name) there.
10 Now these are Thy Avadim and Thy Am, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy ko’ach hagadol, and by Thy Yad HaChazakah.
11 O Adonoi, let now Thine ear be attentive to the tefillah of Thy eved, and to the tefillah of Thy Avadim, who desire to fear Thy Shem; and give success to Thy eved today, and grant him rachamim in the sight of this man. For I was the Mashkeh L’Melech.
2 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artachshasta HaMelech, that yayin was before him; and I took up the yayin, and gave it unto HaMelech. Now I had not been previously sad in his presence.
2 Wherefore HaMelech said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not choleh (sick)? This is nothing else but ro’ah lev. Then I was very much afraid,
3 And said unto HaMelech, HaMelech l’olam yicheyeh. Why should not my countenance look sad, when HaIr, the Bais Kivrot Avotai, lieth in ruins, and the gates thereof are consumed with eish?
4 Then HaMelech said unto me, For what dost Thou make request? So I davened to Elohei HaShomayim.
5 And I said unto HaMelech, If it please HaMelech, and if thy eved have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Yehudah, unto the Ir Kivrot Avotai, that I may rebuild her.
6 And HaMelech said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be, and when wilt thou return? So it pleased HaMelech to send me; and I set for him a zman.
7 Moreover I said unto HaMelech, If it please HaMelech, let iggrot be given me to the governors Beyond the River, that they may provide me safe conduct till I come into Yehudah;
8 And an iggeret unto Asaph the Shomer of the forest of HaMelech, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress by the Beis, and for the Chomat HaIr, and for the bais that I shall occupy. And HaMelech granted me, according to the Yad Elohai Hatovah upon me.
9 Then I came to the governors Beyond the River [Euphrates], and gave them the Iggrot HaMelech. Now HaMelech had sent captains of the army and parashim (a troop of horsemen) with me.
10 When Sanvalat the Choroni, and Toviyah the eved (official), the Ammoni, heard of it, it grieved them with a ra’ah gedolah that there was come an adam to seek the welfare of the Bnei Yisroel.
11 So I came to Yerushalayim; was there 3 yamim.
12 And I arose in the lailah, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what Elohai had put in my lev to do for Yerushalayim; neither was there any mount with me, save the mount that I rode upon.
13 And I went out by lailah by the Valley Gate, even before the Dragon’s Spring, and to the Dung Gate [3:13], and made inspection of the Chomat Yerushalayim, which had been broken down, and the gates thereof that were consumed with eish.
14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate, and to the King’s Pool [Pool of Shiloah], but there was no place for the mount that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the lailah by way of the valley, and viewed the Chomah (Wall), and turned back, and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16 And the officials knew not where I went, or what I did; neither as yet to the Yehudim, nor to the Kohanim, nor to the Nobles, nor to the Rulers, nor to the rest that were to do the melachah (work) had I said anything.
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see hara’ah (the trouble) that we are in, how Yerushalayim lieth in ruins, and the gates thereof are burned with eish; come, and let us rebuild the Chomat Yerushalayim, that we suffer derision no more.
18 Then I told them of the Yad Elohai Hatovah which was upon me; as also the Divrei HaMelech that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and rebuild. So they strengthened their hands in tovah (in the good).
19 But when Sanvalat the Choroni, and Toviyah the eved (official), the Ammoni, and Geshem the Arab, heard it, they laughed at us in mockery, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? Against HaMelech will you be moredim (ones rebelling)?
20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, Elohei HaShomayim, He will give us success; therefore we His avadim will arise and rebuild; but ye have no chelek (allotted portion), nor tzadakah (right), nor zikaron b’Yerushalayim (history to commemorate in Jerusalem).
3 Then Elyashiv the Kohen HaGadol rose up with his achim the Kohanim, and they rebuilt the Sheep Gate; they set it apart as kodesh, and set up the daletot of it; even unto the Migdal HaMe’ah they set it apart as kodesh, unto the Migdal Chanan’el.
2 And next unto him the Anshei Yericho built. And next to them built Zakkur ben Imri.
3 But the Fish Gate did the Bnei Hasnaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the daletot thereof, the locks , and the bars thereof.
4 And next unto them Meremot ben Uriyah ben Hakotz made repairs. And next unto them Meshullam ben Berekhyah ben Meshezav’el made repairs. And next unto them Tzadok ben Ba’ana did so.
5 And next unto them the Tekoim built; but their Nobles put not their necks to the Avodas adoneihem.
6 Moreover Yoyada ben Paseach and Meshullam ben Besodyah made repairs on the Sha’ar HaYeshanah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the daletot, and the locks, and the bars thereof.
7 And next unto them repaired Melatyah the Giveoni, and Yadon the Meronoti, the men of Giveon, and of Mitzpah, upto the seat of the governor of Beyond the River [Euphrates].
8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel ben Charhayah, one of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Chananyah son of the perfumers, and they fortified Yerushalayim upto the Broad Wall.
9 And next unto them repaired Refayah ben Chur, the ruler of half the district of Yerushalayim.
10 And next unto them repaired Yedayah ben Charumaph, opposite his bais. And next unto him repaired Chattush ben Chashavneyah.
11 Malkiyah ben Charim, and Chashuv ben Pachat-Moav, repaired the other section, and the Migdal HaTannurim.
12 And next unto him repaired Shallum ben Halochesh, the ruler of half the district of Yerushalayim, he and his banot.
13 The Valley Gate repaired Chanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoach; they rebuilt it, and set up the daletot thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and 1,000 cubits of Chomah unto the Dung Gate.
14 But the Dung Gate did Malkiyah ben Rechav, the ruler of the district of Beit Hakerem repair; he rebuilt it, and set up the daletot thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
15 But the Fountain Gate did Shallun ben Kol-Chozeh, ruler of Mitzpah district repair; he rebuilt it, covered it, set up the daletot thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the chomah of the Pool of Shelach [Shiloah] by the Gan HaMelech, and upto the stairs that go down from the Ir Dovid.
16 After him repaired Nechemyah ben Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beit-tzur, unto the place opposite the Kivrei Dovid, and to the artificial pool, and unto the Bais HaGiborim.
17 After him repaired the Levi’im, Rechum ben Bani. Next unto him repaired Chashavyah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, in his district.
18 After him repaired their achim, Bavai ben Chenadad, ruler half the Keilah district.
19 And next to him repaired Ezer ben Yeshua, the ruler of Mitzpah, another section fronting the ascent to the armory at the Corner.
20 After him Baruch ben Zakkai zealously repaired the other section, from the Corner unto the petach Bais Elyashiv the Kohen HaGadol.
21 After him repaired Meremot ben Uriyah ben Hakotz another section, from the entrance of the Bais Elyashiv even to the end of the Bais Elyashiv.
22 And after him repaired the Kohanim, who were the men of the surrounding area.
23 After him repaired Binyamin and Chashuv opposite their bais. After him repaired Azaryah ben Maaseiyah ben Ananyah etzel (beside, Prov 8:30) his bais.
24 After him repaired Binnui ben Chenadad another section, from the bais Azaryah unto the Corner, even unto the Pinnah.
25 Palal ben Uzai, opposite the Corner, and the Migdal which projects from upper part of the Bais HaMelech, that was by the khatzer (court) of the Guard. After him Pedayah ben Parosh
26 And the Netenim (servants of the Bais Hamikdash) dwelt on Ophel, made repairs unto the place opposite the Water Gate on the east, and the migdal that projects out.
27 After them the Tekoim repaired another section, opposite the great migdal that projects out, even unto the Chomat Ophel.
28 From above the Horse Gate repaired the Kohanim, every one opposite his bais.
29 After them repaired Tzadok ben Immer opposite his bais. After him repaired also Shemayah ben Shechanyah, the Shomer of the East Gate.
30 After him repaired Chananyah ben Shelemyah, and Chanun the sixth son of Tzalaph, another section. After him repaired Meshullam ben Berekhyah opposite his living quarters.
31 After him repaired Malkiyah one of the goldsmiths unto the place of the Netenim, and of the merchants, opposite the Sha’ar HaMifkad, and to the aliyyat hapinnah.
32 And between the aliyyat hapinnah unto the Sheep Gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.
2 And when the day of Shavuos is fulfilled, they were all together in one place. [Lv 23:15,16]
2 And there was mitamuhl (suddenly) from Shomayim a sound like the rushing of a violent wind, and it filled the whole bais where they were sitting.
3 And leshonot appeared to them, being divided as eish resting on each one of them,
4 And all were filled with the Ruach Hakodesh, and they began to speak in leshonot acherot as the Ruach Hakodesh was giving the utterance to them.
5 Now there were in Yerushalayim frum, charedi (orthodox) Yehudim from all the nations under Shomayim.
6 And at this sound, the multitude assembled and was bewildered, because they were hearing, each one in his own native language, the Achim b’Moshiach speaking.
7 And they were mishpoyel (standing in awe) and marveled, saying, "Hinei, are not all of these Galileans speaking?
8 "And how are we hearing, each in our own language in which we were born?
9 "We Parthians and Medes and Elamites; the ones living in Mesopotamia, Yehudah, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,
10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Mitzrayim (Egypt), and the regions of Libya around Cyrene; and the visiting Romans,
11 Both Yehudim and Gerim (Proselytes), Cretan, and Arabic, we hear them speaking in other languages [than their own] of the Gevurot (mighty acts) of Hashem".
12 And all had real hispailus (overwhelming awe) and were bewildered saying one to another, "What can this mean?"
13 But others, mocking, were saying, "Of sweet wine they have been filled!”
14 But Kefa, having stood with the Achad Asar, lifted up his voice and declared to them, "Anashim Yehudim! And the ones inhabiting Yerushalayim, have da’as of all this and be goires (listen to) my dvarim:
15 "For these ones are not, as you assume, in their schnaps, for it is only the third hour of the day (nine o’clock in the morning).
16 "But this is what has been spoken by Yoel HaNavi;
17 `And it shall be in the Acharit Hayamim, ne’um Hashem, ESHPOCH ES RUCHI AL KOL BASAR V’NIB’U BNEICHEM U’VENOTEICHEM ZIKNEICHEM CHALOMOT YACHALOMUN BACHUREICHEM CHEZYONOT YIRU ("I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh: and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your bochrim will see visions": Yoel 3:1 [2:28]) [Num 11:25; Isa 44:3; Ezek 39:29]
18 ‘And upon My avadim and upon My shfakhot in BAYYAMIM HAHEMMAH ESHPOCH ES RUCHI ("in those days I will pour out my Ruach Hakodesh") and they will speak dvarim hanevu’ah:
19 ‘And I will give MOFTIM BASHOMAYIM and signs on ha’aretz below DAHM VA’EISH V’TIMROT ASHAM ("blood and fire and billows of smoke")
20 ‘The shemesh (sun) will be transformed into choshech (darkness) and the moon into blood before the great and dreadful YOM HASHEM.")
21 ("And it will be that everyone whoever calls upon the Name of Adonoi will be saved".)' [BERESHIS 4:26; 26:25; TEHILLIM 105:1; YOEL 3:1-5 (2:28 32)]
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