1:1 Verba Nehemiæ filii Helchiæ. Et factum est in mense Casleu, anno vigesimo, et ego eram in Susis castro.

1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Helchias. And it came to pass in the month of Casleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in the castle of Susa,

1:2 Et venit Hanani, unus de fratribus meis, ipse et viri ex Juda : et interrogavi eos de Judæis qui remanserant, et supererant de captivitate, et Jerusalem.

1:2 That Hanani one of my brethren came, he and some men of Juda; and I asked them concerning the Jews, that remained and were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

1:3 Et dixerunt mihi : Qui remanserunt, et relicti sunt de captivitate ibi in provincia, in afflictione magna sunt, et in opprobrio : et murus Jerusalem dissipatus est, et portæ ejus combustæ sunt igni.

1:3 And they said to me: They that have remained, and are left of the captivity there in the province, are in great affliction, and reproach: and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire.

1:4 Cumque audissem verba hujuscemodi, sedi, et flevi, et luxi diebus multis : jejunabam, et orabam ante faciem Dei cæli :

1:4 And when I had heard these words, I sat down, and wept, and mourned for many days: and I fasted, and prayed before the face of the God of heaven.

1:5 et dixi : Quæso, Domine Deus cæli fortis, magne atque terribilis, qui custodis pactum et misericordiam cum his qui te diligunt, et custodiunt mandata tua :

1:5 And I said: I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, strong, great, and terrible, who keepest covenant and mercy with those that love thee, and keep thy commandments:

1:6 fiant aures tuæ auscultantes, et oculi tui aperti, ut audias orationem servi tui, quam ego oro coram te hodie nocte et die pro filiis Israël servis tuis : et confiteor pro peccatis filiorum Israël, quibus peccaverunt tibi : ego et domus patris mei peccavimus,

1:6 Let thy ears be attentive, and thy eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, night and day, for the children of Israel thy servants: and I confess the sins of the children of Israel, by which they have sinned against thee: I and my father's house have sinned.

1:7 vanitate seducti sumus, et non custodivimus mandatum tuum, et cæremonias, et judicia quæ præcepisti Moysi famulo tuo.

1:7 We have been seduced by vanity, and have not kept thy commandments, and ceremonies and judgments, which thou hast commanded thy servant Moses.

1:8 Memento verbi quod mandasti Moysi servo tuo, dicens : Cum transgressi fueritis, ego dispergam vos in populos :

1:8 Remember the word that thou commandedst to Moses thy servant, saying: If you shall transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

1:9 et si revertamini ad me, et custodiatis præcepta mea, et faciatis ea : etiamsi abducti fueritis ad extrema cæli, inde congregabo vos, et reducam in locum quem elegi ut habitaret nomen meum ibi.

1:9 But if you return to me, and keep my commandments, and do them, though you should be led away to the uttermost parts of the world, I will gather you from thence, and bring you back to the place which I have chosen for my name to dwell there.

1:10 Et ipsi servi tui, et populus tuus, quos redemisti in fortitudine tua magna, et in manu tua valida.

1:10 And these are thy servants, and thy people: whom thou hast redeemed by thy great strength, and by thy mighty hand.

1:11 Obsecro, Domine, sit auris tua attendens ad orationem servi tui, et ad orationem servorum tuorum, qui volunt timere nomen tuum : et dirige servum tuum hodie, et da ei misericordiam ante virum hunc. Ego enim eram pincerna regis.

1:11 I beseech thee, O Lord, let thy ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants who desire to fear thy name: and direct thy servant this day, and give him mercy before this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.