¶ Nehemy butteler to kynge Artaxerxes, prayeth to God for the people.
CAPI. I.
[ A] THese are the actes of Nehemie the sonne of Hachalia. It fortuned in the moneth Casleu, in the twenty yere, that I was in the castell at Susā: and Hanani one of my brethren came wt certayne men of Iuda, and I asked them howe the Iewes dyd that were delyuered and escaped from the captiui∣tie, and how it wente at Ierusalem. And they sayde vnto me: The remnaunt of the captiui∣tie are there in the lande in greate mysfortune and rebuke.* 1.1 The walles of Ierusalem are broken downe, and the gates therof are brent [ B] with fyre.
When I herde these wordes, I sate me downe and wepte, and mourned thre dayes, and fasted and prayed before the God of hea∣uen, and sayd: O Lorde God of heuen, thou greate and terrible God,* 1.2 thou that kepest couenaunt and mercy for them that loue the, and obserue thy commaundementes: Lette thyne cares harken, and thyne eyes be open, that thou mayste heare the prayer of thy ser∣uaunt, whiche I praye nowe before the, daye and nyght, for the chyldren of Israel thy ser∣uauntes, and knowlege the synnes of the chil¦dren of Israell, whiche we haue commytted agaynst the. And I and my fathers house haue synned also. We haue bene corrupte vnto [ C] the, in that we haue not kepte the commaun∣dementes, statutes and lawes, whiche thou commaundedst thy seruaunte Moses. Yet call to remembraunce the worde that thou com∣maundedst thy seruaunt Moses, and saydest: Yf ye transgresse, I wyll scatter you abrode amonge the nacyons. But yf ye tourne vnto me, and kepe my commaundementes and doo them: thoughe ye were caste out vnto the vt∣termost parte of heuen, yet wyll I gather you thence, and brynge you euen vnto the place that I haue chosen for my name, to dwelle [ D] there. They are thy seruauntes, and thy peo∣ple, whome thou haste delyuered thorowe thy greate power, and stronge hande. O Lorde, let thyne eares harken to the prayer of thy ser∣uaunte, and the prayer of thy seruauntes, whose desyre is to feare thy name, and let thy seruaunt prospere this daye, and graunte hym mercye in the syghte of this man: for I was the kynges butler.