The words of Nehemiaha son of Hacaliah:

NEWS FROM JERUSALEM

During the month of Chislevb in the twentieth year,c when I was in the fortress city of Susa,d 2 Hanani,e one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnantf that had survived the exile.g 3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province,h who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”i