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1 I am Nehemiah, son of Hakaliah. I am writing this account.
My story begins in the month of Kislev during the twentieth year of the reign of King Artaxerxes over the Persian Empire. I was in the capital city of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to see me, along with some other people from the province of Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and remained in Judah many years earlier when soldiers had forced many Jews to go to Babylon. I also asked about the condition of the city of Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “The Jews who escaped the exile and remained in the province of Judah are in a desperate situation. The Babylonian soldiers broke down the wall of Jerusalem to get into the city, and they burned down all of its gates. The people living there are defenseless.”
4 When I heard about these things, I sat down and cried. I could not stop mourning for days. I went without food, and I prayed to the God who is in heaven.
5 I said, “O Yahweh, you are the God who is in heaven. You are the great and awesome God. You always keep your promises faithfully to those who love you and obey your commandments. 6 Now please pay careful attention and listen to my prayer that I am praying to you now, as I have been constantly, for the people of Israel, your chosen people. I must confess the sins that we, the people of Israel, have committed against you. Both I and my family have also sinned. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. Many years ago you gave us your Law through your servant Moses. But we have not obeyed your Law.
8 Please call to mind the promise that you made to your servant Moses. You told him, ‘If you Israelites do not obey my commandments, I will take you from your land and make you live among the other nations. 9 But if you become loyal to me again and start obeying my commandments once more, then I will bring you back to your homeland of Judah. That is the place from which I chose to start making myself famous throughout the world. I will do this no matter how far you have been taken away.’
10 We are your chosen people, whom you rescued from slavery in Egypt. You did that easily because you are so very powerful. 11 O my Lord, please pay careful attention to my prayer and to the prayers of my fellow Israelites. We are eager to honor you. Please grant that the king will agree to the request that I hope to make soon.” At that time, I was an important official who served the wine at the king’s table.