Nehemiah 2:1-5 ▼

1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before his face, and I lifted up the wine and gave it to the king. And never had I been sad before his face.

2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, and you are not sick? This is nothing except but sorrow of heart.” And I feared very much,

3 and I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad when the city, the place of the tombs of my fathers, is waste, and its gates have been consumed with the fire?”

4 And the king said to me, “Upon what is this you are seeking?” And I prayed to the God of the heavens,

5 and I said to the king, “If to the king it is good, and if your servant has found favor in your eyes, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of the tombs of my fathers, and I will rebuild it.”