Nehemiah 1

THe words Or rather, the acts, or deeds as the word oft signifies; of which he here treats. of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu Which is the 9th month containing part of November, and part of December., in the twentieth year Of Artaxerxes, ch. 2. 1., as I was in Shushan The Chief and Royal City of Persia Esth. 3. 15. the palace,

That Hanani, one of my Brethren Of my Family or Tribe or Nation. came, he and certain men of Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped Out of the slavery which they indured in strange Lands., which were left of the captivity The remnant of those numerous Captives. and concerning Jerusalem.

And they said unto me, the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province i. e. In Iudea, which was now made a province under the Persian Monarchs, see the Notes on Ezra. 5. 8. are in great affliction and reproach Despised and distressed by the neighbouring Nations.: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire i. e. The walls and gates continue in the same woful plight in which Nebuchadnezzar left them; the Jews not being yet in a condition to rebuild them, nor having Commission from the Kings of Persia to do so, but only to build the Temple and their own private houses. And this made their enemies scorn them; who also would have ruined them but for fear of offending the Persian King..

And it came to pass when I heard these words, that I sate down and wept, and mourned certain days, and prayed before the God of heaven,

And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant, and mercy for them that love him, and observe his commandments.

Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I, and my fathers house have sinned,

We have dealt very corruptly Or we have wholly corrupted, to wit our selves, and our ways, and thy Worship. against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, to deliver to us, saying, if ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

Now these are thy servants, and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand,

O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive unto the prayer of thy servant, & to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man The King: who though a God by Office, is but a man by Nature, and therefore his heart is wholly at thy disposal.. For I was the kings cup bearer Whereby I had opportunity to speak to him and some Favour and Freedom with him; which encouraged me to make this Prayer and to hope for some success..