2It happened in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. And I had never been sad before the king. ²So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” And I was very much afraid. ³I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad when the city of my ancestors’^a burial site^b is ruined and her gates are consumed by fire?” ⁴Then the king said to me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of the heavens. ⁵Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your presence, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’^c burial sites, so that I may rebuild it.”

⁶With the queen sitting beside him, the king said to me, “How long will your journey be and when will you return?” So it pleased the king and he sent me, and I set for him an appointed time. ⁷Then I said to the king, “If it is good for the king, let letters be given to me for the governors in the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass until I come to Judah. ⁸Also, a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s land reserve, that he should give me timber for laying the beams for the gates of the citadel of the house and for the walls of the city, and for the house which I will enter.” And the king gave permission to me, according to the good hand of God on me.

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Footnotes

aOr “fathers’ ”
bHebrew “sites”
cOr “fathers’ ”