3. and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? ”
4. Then the king asked me, “What is your request? ”So I prayed to the God of heaven
5. and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
6. The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return? ” So I gave him a definite time, and it pleased the king to send me.
7. I also said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.
8. And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress, the city wall, and the home where I will live.” The king granted my requests, for I was graciously strengthened by my God.
9. I went to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent officers of the infantry and cavalry with me.
10. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased.
11. After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,
12. I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the one I was riding.
13. I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent’s Well and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
14. I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through.
15. So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate and returned.