¶ After N••hemia had obteyned letters of Arthaxer∣ses, he cometh to Ierusalem, and ••••yldeth the walle••.
CAPI. II.
IT fortuned, that in the moneth Nisan [unspec A] in the twentyeth yere of kynge Arthaxer∣ses, the wyne stode before hym, and I toke vp the wyne, and gaue it vnto the kyng, and I was heuy in his presence. And the kynge sayd vnto me: why lokest thou so sadly, when thou art not sycke•• it is nothyng els, but that thou art heuy herted. And I was sore afrayd, and sayd vnto the kyng: God saue the kyng{is} lyfe for euer. Howe shulde I not loke sadly / when the citye and place of my fathers bury∣all lyeth wast, and the gates therof are con∣sumed with fyre? And the kynge sayde vnto me: what is then thy request? I made my prayer also to the God of heuen, and sayd vn to the kynge: Yf it please the kyng, and yf thy seruaunt haue founde fauour in thy syght / send•• me into Iuda vnto the citye of my fa∣thers buryall, that I maye buylde it.
And the kynge sayde vnto me (the quene [unspec B] his wyfe syttynge by hym) howe longe shall thy iourney contynue, and when wy••te thou come agayne? And it pleased the kynge to sende me, and I set hym a tyme, and sayd vn∣to the kynge: yf it please the Kynge, let hym gyue me letters to the captaynes whiche are beyonde the water, that they may conuey me ouer, tyll I come in to Iuda: and letters vn∣to Asaph the Lorde of the kynges wood, that he maye gyue me tymber to make beames ☞ for the gates of the palace (which is herde by the house) and for the walles of the citye, and for the house that I shall entre into▪ And the kynge gaue me accordynge to the hande of my god, whiche was good vpon me. And when I came to the captaynes beynde the water, I gaue them the kynges letters: And the kynge had sent captaynes and horsemen with me. Sanabalat also the Horonite and Tobia a seruaunt (the Ammonite) herde of it, & it greued them sore, that there was ••••me a man whiche sought the welth of the chyl∣dren of Israell.
And I came to Ierusalem, and was there [unspec C] thre dayes, and I gat me vp in the nyghtse•• son, and a fewe men with me: neyther tolde I any man, what God had gyuen me in my herte to do at Ierusalem: and there was not one beast with me, saue it that I rode vpon. And I departed in the nyght by the valley porte, before the Dragon well, & to the dong porte, and consydered the walles of Ierusa∣lem, howe they were broken downe, and the portes therof consumed with the fyre. And I went ouer vnto the welporte, & to the kynges conduite, & there was no rowme for the brast that was vnder me, to passe. Then ••••nt I on in the nyght by the broke syde, and cōsydered the wall, and turned backe, and came h••me agayne by the valley porte.
And the rulers knewe not whyther I went [unspec D] or what I dyd: neyther dyd I as yet tell it vn to the Iues, to the preestes, to the noble men / to the rulers, and to the other that laboured in the worke. Then sayde I vnto them: ye se the myserye that we are in, howe Ierusalem lyeth waste, and howe the gates therof are burnt with fyre: come therfore, that we maye buylde vp the the walle of Ierusalem, and that we be no more a r••buke. And I tolde them of the hande of my God, (that it was gracyous ouer me) and the kynges wordes that he had spoken vnto me. And they sayd: let vs get vp and buylde: and ☞ they streng∣thed theyr hande to good.
But when Sanabalat the Horonyte, and