In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Ar-ta-xerx\u2032es, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, \u201cWhy is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing else but sadness of the heart.\u201d Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, \u201cLet the king live for ever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers\u2019 sepulchres, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?\u201d Then the king said to me, \u201cFor what do you make request?\u201d So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, \u201cIf it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers\u2019 sepulchres, that I may rebuild it.\u201d And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), \u201cHow long will you be gone, and when will you return?\u201d So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. And I said to the king, \u201cIf it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah; and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king\u2019s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house which I shall occupy.\u201d And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.<\/p>\n
–Nehemiah 2:1-8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Ar-ta-xerx\u2032es, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king…<\/span><\/p>\n