¹The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:[#1:1 Neh 10:1]

News from Jerusalem

During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa,

²Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile.[#1:2 Neh 7:2; #1:2 Ezr 9:8,15; Is 10:20–22; #1:2 Ezr 1:11]

³They said to me, ‘The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.’[#1:3 Ezr 2:1; Neh 11:3; #1:3 Ezr 4:12–13,16; Neh 2:13]

Nehemiah’s Prayer

⁴When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.[#1:4 Ezr 9:3; 10:1; Ps 35:13; Dn 9:3; Lk 2:37; Ac 13:3; #1:4 Ezr 1:2; Neh 2:4]

⁵I said,[#1:5–11 Dn 9:4–19]

At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.