Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah’s Prayer

¹These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,

²Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah. So I questioned them about the remnant of the Jews who had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

³And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

⁴When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

⁵Then I said:

(At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)